Better Equipped
by Confucius
Summary: An anime-manga fan was mistakenly reborn as Naruto. He still has memories of his prior life and hope it gives him an edge. Naruto tries to change the future but will soon find out that some things will backfire for some events are fated to happen.
1. Reincarnation Mishaps

Better Equipped

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. 

: Thoughts

Chapter 1 – Reincarnation Mishaps

     "I'm sorry for doing this Naruto," said the Fourth Hokage, the leader and strongest ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village.  "You're going to be a hero of the village.  Grow up and make me proud."  The forbidden jutsu was completed and Kyuubi, the demon fox was then trapped inside his child.

     Did someone just say Naruto?  Oh my god, where the hell am I?  Who is this man?  Holy sht, I'm naked!  Am I a freaking baby?  This must be a bad dream. 

     King Emma was having another fit in the Underworld.  "Damn, we accidentally misplaced another soul.  Reincarnated that boy into the wrong body.  Now the original soul in that newborn baby has been knocked out and would probably be seeing me in a bit."  The Lord of the Underworld then turned to his servants and asked a question that he was pondering.  "Say, did someone remember to erase that soul's memory of his previous life before all this?"  Seeing that everyone was shaking their head, he left off a sigh.  "Oh well, the kid better be entertaining."

Naruto at age 4

     For the past years, the new Naruto had tried to get use to his new life.  He was a twenty-three year old trapped inside a four year old body.  In addition, he was trapped inside a Japanese ninja series.  Everything was pretty much weird.  All he remembered before coming to this world was being in a car accident.  He doubt there was some dimension traveling jutsu so he gave up the fact about going back to his world for the time being.  Another frequent activity he does was to create strategies for himself so that he would be able to overcome future hardships.  He knew much of the Naruto world from reading the mangas and watching the animes.  He was ready to use everything he knows to give him a big advantage to surviving this crazy place. 

     It was about time that Naruto started to train seriously.  His small body was functioning better than the previous year.  He could walk and run without falling.  It was around noon as he stood in front of the Hokage Monument.  Wow, the monument is pretty amazing.  Wonder how long it took to crave each of those faces.  Anyways, the 4th face there is supposed to be my father or at least the father of this body.  All I have to do now is to wait and hope the Third Hokage comes around.  Then I can start manipulating him into training me and stuff.

     As luck would have it, the Third did come.  The Hokage Monument was one of his favorite places in Konoha where he usually goes to when he is troubled with village's affairs.  The main head of the Hyuuga Clan had killed the leader of the Hidden Cloud Ninja last night for trying to kidnap the heir to the clan.  Now, the Hidden Cloud wants revenge for their leader's death.  It seems like their goal was to steal the secrets of the Byakugan and they still want it after their mission failed.  Things were becoming troublesome very fast.  It was then he saw a familiar face that was gazing at the monument.  "The Hokage Monument is great is it not?  It is one of my most favorite places to visit.  The faces on the cliff bring back many memories, all which is good of course."

     Naruto was a bit startled since he was in deep thoughts.  He then realized it was the Third Hokage who spoke to him and that it was time to set his plans in motion.  "I always heard of the Hokage Monument but never got to see it until now sir.  It's good to leave the house once in awhile and the next thing I know, I found myself here." 

     Okay, now I let in a moment of silence before continuing. 

     Naruto looked up at the Third with a sad face.  "Sir… do you hate me?"

     Sandaime Hokage was shocked at the boy's question.

     "Everywhere I go, people give me cold looks as if I did something terribly bad.  I don't remember I did something wrong to them and yet everything stays away from me.  I got yelled for playing with a group of children my age yesterday.  Even today as I was walking here, everything stayed a distance away from me and whispering something while giving me cold stares.  Does everyone hate me?"

     The leader of the leaf knew too well what was going on.  Everyone within the Leaf was afraid of the boy since he was the container of the Kyuubi.  The fear they had turned into hatred.  Naruto who should be the hero of the village was now looked upon as a disease.  The Third felt he was partly to blame for Naruto's tragedy.  Him being the leader of the village had the power to enforce everyone to treat the kid better but he knows that it wouldn't really help the matter since that wouldn't erase their fear and hatred.  All he could do was to order the people to never reveal the secret that the demon fox was sealed within Naruto. 

     "No one hates you Naruto," the Third reassured.  "All you need to do is to show everyone that you are a person who should not be hated." 

     Jeez old man.  Basically, you are telling me to take care of this shit alone.  Guess I need to go to stage 2 of the plan. 

     "I have another question sir.  You are the leader of the village right?  Do you know who my parents are?  Can you tell me about them?"

     He's asking a lot of questions.  He's not ready to learn the truth about his parents yet.

     "Your parents were very strong Naruto.  Your father was actually close to me.  He was a very proud man.  He lived and breathed for Konoha just as much as I.  I remember when you were born, he told me his dream was to see you grow up and become a respected ninja."

     This is certainly new.  I don't recall him ever mention this in the series.  Then again, the Fourth being Naruto's father still remains a secret.

     "My dream is to be a ninja.  Not just a normal ninja but a great one.  But I don't think that is going to happen."

     "Why do you say that," the Third asked. 

     "Well, it's because I am alone.  Most ninjas have families.  These ninjas are taught at school and also trained by their parents at home.  This totally gives them an advantage, especially ninjas that come from special clans.   They have secret techniques that only they know.  I'll get my butt kicked by everyone.  It's not fair!"

     The conversation had really turned interesting and it amused Sandaime.  "Oh?  What do you know about the special clans?"

     "I have been reading a lot of books.  The Aburame Clan control bugs that eat chakra.  The bugs actually live inside the host's body.  The Uchiha Clan has the Sharingan.  They are able to copy most to any jutsu plus they can see through genjutsu.  The Hyuuga Clan has the Byakugan.  They can see a range close to 360 degrees, see far, and see through things and genjutsu.  In addition, they can see the chakra coils within the body.  These are just some clans out of many that have special skills or bloodlines."

     Sandaime was very impressed.  The Fourth's legacy seemed to be very knowledgeable about the different clans and their abilities.  "Why did you choose research on these clans?"

     "Well, I like to think that having sufficient information upon your opponents and allies is just as handy as a sharp blade.  With the right information, even an unbeatable opponent will fall.  I want to know what kind of ninjas are around me and what I will need to do to be above them.  It seems like I need to do a lot of training."

     Damn, all that geezer does is smile and nod to whatever I said.  Looks like I have to go with the direct approach and make him adopt me.

     "The Fourth looks a lot like me.  He is my father isn't he?"

     The Third made no reply.

     "I'm not stupid Hokage-sama.  There is a picture of the Fourth in my home and the resemblance is uncanny.  How come everyone is hiding this from me?"

     "I didn't think you were ready with that information," the Third replied.  "In fact, only a few selected people actually know that you are the Fourth's legacy.  We were afraid to tell you about your father because it might cause you more pain that you are feeling right now."

     "Does it have to do with the Kyuubi that attacked the village?  The villagers whisper its name whenever I am around.  I didn't pay much attention to it since I had no idea how it would relate to me."

     A sad smile appeared on the Third's face.  "I don't think you are quite ready Naruto.  I will tell you everything when it is time."

     "Hokage-sama, you are known as the Professor who was said to know all the jutsus in the village.  You taught the Three Legendary Sennins and one of them taught my father.  Can you train me in replace of my father?" 

     I finally asked him.  I wonder what response I will get.  One of the responses I might get is that he is busy to train me since he is the Hokage whom has many responsibilities.  Guess I will need to continue persuading him.

     "Perhaps by training with you, I will begin to understand more about my father and his reasons on why he abandons me to save this village.  And when I understand him, I want to be strong enough to protect this village and everyone in it like he had.  I know you are a busy man so I won't disturb you carelessly.  In fact, I think I can help you.  I have a feeling that my life will be full of hardships, which is why I want to be ready for it when the time comes."  Naruto got down on his knees and looked the old man with strong determination.  "Please Hokage-sama!"

     It was true that he didn't have time to pick up a student.  He was just taking a short walk to clear his mind about last night's events, hoping that it would help him think of a way out that would not harm his village.  Then Naruto appeared and said he wanted to be trained by him.  He thought over what Naruto said and it was true the container of Kyuubi would was destined to face many problems.  The boy does show signs of high intelligence for a four year old and he was practically a close family member. 

    What should I do Yondaime?  He is your child which means that he has great potential of becoming a future Hokage.  Like father like son…maybe.  Guess I do owe you for your great sacrifice.  I won't turn my back on your son when he needs my help.

     "My training won't be simple."

     All Naruto could do was smile.

     Oh my god!  I did it!  He's going to teach me.

     "There's another thing too sensei.  Is it possible if I can stay at your house?  I could start training early and stop training late."

     "You want to move in too?  I can't see the harm in that I guess.  It has been awhile that I had company since my son moved away after his marriage."

     "Cool!"

     Did I forget to mention that I can take a look at your scrolls in your library easier this way?

Naruto at age 11

     Things have really gone well for the young ninja.  Naruto was able to learn many jutsus from the old man and his library.  He even got to peak into the Fourth's forbidden scrolls.  It turns out that the forbidden scroll was to be given to Naruto when he was ready.  Being ready meant he was able to fully utilize and control the demon fox within him.  As long as the scrolls were meant to be his, it wouldn't hurt too much to peak at it first. 

     When Naruto felt it was time to train in using Kyuubi's chakra, he confronted the Third about knowing that Kyuubi was sealed inside him.  This way, he didn't have to sneak around to train and the Hokage could give him pointers as well.  Naruto spent many hours practicing on chakra concentration since he knows he is bad at it.  He theorized that his body is continuously undergoing changes to cope with the fox demon's immense power, which was why his chakra concentration is weak.  The positive side was that his body is getting stronger than the average person.  Since his body is constantly upgrading itself to become strong to cope with Kyuubi's chakra, the results gives him great stamina and an abundance it chakra in his normal state. 

     Naruto has met many people that he wasn't suppose to after he becomes a Genin.  He met and associates with many Chuunins and Jounins since he spends a lot of time with the Hokage.  Many of them were also appointed to be his short term tutor, teaching him special skills he thought was important to have.  After moving in with the Hokage at age four, Naruto started to cover half his face with a mask just like Kakashi does.  This was to hide the whiskers on his face so that people won't know he is the child that carries Kyuubi.  He didn't bother to change his name since he never gave it away before putting on the mask.  People recognize him in the original Naruto timeline because of the whiskers and that he was infamous with the pranks he pulled.  Not even the Jounins know about his identity.  This was a guarded secret between Naruto and the Hokage.  Both feel it was necessary to do this in order for Naruto to live a life where people don't judge him because of the fox.  Naruto knows that his secret won't last long since there is a high chance that he will need to access Kyuubi's chakra for help in the near future.  Ninjas that were involved in the Kyuubi battle would remember the evil power of the demon fox.  For now, Naruto just hopes that he gets on people's good side before they know the truth.

     The orange jumpsuit was certainly not this Naruto's style.  He prefers black color clothing which was a color ninjas usually wore in those Japanese ninja movies he watched in his past life.  He wore black pants and a black shirt that Sasuke wore in the fourth saga in the Naruto anime.  The Uchiha symbol on the back of the shirt is replaced with the Uzumaki symbol.  He also started to wear weighted clothing to help increase his strength and speed.  He wore weighting anklets that was hidden behind his pants and weighted gloves and vest.  The weighted clothing really worked in the Dragonball Z series and it certainly helped Lee.  However the gloves and vest would also increase his strength not just speed. 

     Since Naruto pretty much knows how tough his life is going to be, he concentrates hard at school.  If there were questions he forgot to ask the Hokage or his tutors, he would ask them in class.  He made sure to listen to Iruka-sensei and jog down notes about chakra concentration, which he still sucks at.  He's close to Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, and Hinata.  Naruto tends to hang around them whenever he is on break from training.  Hinata was the first person he met from that group since he often visit the Hyuuga Clan with the Hokage when he was young.  It seems she was already shy when he first met her.  He wonders if being kidnapped at a young age damaged her self confidence or maybe it is just her nature.  He hasn't met the rest of the cast yet but he knows he will next year when they become Genins.

Author's Note:

Well, I always wanted to do an SI so here it is. 


	2. Meet the New Teams

Better Equipped

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. 

: Thoughts

Chapter 2 – Meet the new Teams

Naruto at age 12

     Things went along as Naruto expected.  He finally met the other main cast of the series.  Aburame Shino, Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino, and Uchiha Sasuke were all in his class this year.  Sakura and Ino were both cute just like Hinata but he had not intention of having any relationships.  He was still twelve and didn't even have hair on his face yet.  Naruto noticed during their first encounter that Sasuke already developed an intense desire to kill his brother.  He secretly advises Iruka-sensei and Hokage-sensei to give the Uchiha heir some psychiatric treatment.  Naruto told them that Sasuke seems to be power hungry and has potential to become like his older brother if left unchecked.  Both of his sensei agreed to his reasoning and had Sasuke treated and surveyed.  Since Sasuke would eventually seek out Orochimaru, Naruto hopes that the psychiatric treatment will lessen his thirst for revenge and thus does not betray the Leaf.  In case fate will continue to have Sasuke run to Orochimaru, Naruto plans to spoil Sasuke's training and growth.  When it is time for them to fight, Naruto will continue to have a bigger advantage in skills. 

     Another problem Naruto had been with Mizuki.  In the original Naruto timeline, Mizuki tricked Naruto into stealing the Fourth's forbidden scroll.  Mizuki probably still has the ambition to become strong.  Naruto frequently remind Iruka-sensei to keep a close eye on him because that man couldn't be trusted.  Iruka knew of Naruto's good intuition therefore taking his word seriously.  For the moment, Mizuki hasn't taking any action yet.

     Graduation day was here.  Today, all the seniors of the academy will take an exam which will determine if they are qualified to graduate.  Graduates will become an unofficial Genin.  Everyone in the class passed on their first try.  Naruto graduated with the highest scores in all area, giving him the title as this year's number one rookie.  Sasuke was in second place among the twenty-seven people that graduated. 

     "Congratulations to all of you!" Iruka said.  "Every one of you has what it takes and I am proud that you all passed.  Great Work!  Remember to meet up here in three days.  You will begin the next phase of your training onto becoming a ninja of the Leaf."

     The first thing Naruto saw when he walked into the room where all the new Genins was suppose to be introduce to their Jounin instructors were eighty percent of the girls were fighting over Sasuke.  Sakura and Ino were included in that group.  He then noticed Hinata sitting alone and decided to sit by her.  "Morning Hinata!"

     "Good morning Naruto-kun," Hinata replied shyly.  "Shikamaru and the others are already here.  They are sitting three rows down."

     "Oh?  How come you don't sit with them?"

     "The walkway was already crowded when I got here so I decided to sit here instead where it is quieter."

     Naruto nodded.  The walkway was crowded indeed.  The Sasuke fan club all crowded at one spot and fighting over the right to sit by him. 

     Kiba walked over with Akamaru sitting on his head.  "Looks like the Sasuke fan club doesn't know when to quit."

     Naruto couldn't help but chuckle. 

     "Who do you think our instructors would be?"

     "I have no idea Kiba," Naruto answered.  "It's all up to them."

     Actually, I do know them.  I can't tell you since it'll ruin the surprise plus the Hokage training me is suppose to be a secret for now.  I can't let any information out that might get you suspicious.  I had a talk with Iruka and the other instructors about how the team should be divided.  I couldn't help but put in some input.

     On cue, Iruka entered and ordered everyone to take a seat.  "Today we will be creating a three person team.  Each team will be assigned a Jounin sensei.  Please follow their instructions as you would with me.  They have extensive knowledge and experience and will able to continue your training where I cannot.  We tried to balance each team's strengths so that there isn't a team that has an advantage over another.  That just wouldn't be fair."

     "A three person team," Sasuke contemplated.  "They would only slow me down."

     Iruka began to read off the team list.  "In Team Seven, we have Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, and Inuzuka Kiba.  In Team Eight, we have Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Yamanaka Ino."

     "YES!" Sakura and Ino screamed out in unison.  "Hey, how come you're in Sasuke's group?"

     "Quiet down kids!" Iruka yelled.  "This is the team and you are stuck with it.  In Team Nine, we have….  In Team Ten, we have Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and Aburame Shino.  You have a few hours break now.  You can do whatever you want in the mean time but please show up before the scheduled time to meet your Jounin sensei.  You do want to make a good first impression right?"

     Sakura and Ino was very please to be on Sasuke's team however they were annoyed that their rival was apart of the team too.  Sasuke was also annoyed that he didn't get any useful partners.  He was right when he said that his partners would only slow him down.

     I had a hard time picking out my teammates.  Since every group consists of two guys and a girl, I had to pick from Sakura, Hinata, and Ino.  Sakura is smart but I can't recall how her smarts really helped in any situation.  Ino has that body switching technique but it's useless other than spying or tying up our enemies.  Hinata has x-ray and telescope vision like Superman and that can come in handy anytime.  Looks like Hinata has more useful abilities than the other girls and she is a better fighter in my book.  Of course I don't want Sasuke in my group since I don't want him to rob my techniques.  Shikamaru works well with Chouji so I can't split them up.  Plus, they are unmotivated most of the time so I'll be screwed.  Don't know much about Shino so that leaves me with Kiba.

     "Looks like we're going to be teammates," said Kiba.  "Feel sad for Sasuke though.  I don't really know the other two girls that are partnering up with him."

     Yeah, it really does suck.  It would be interesting to see how he fairs out with the two loves struck birds.  Just in case you do side with Orochimaru later on, I can't have you improving at a fast rate.  So I had to talk with Iruka into letting Sakura and Ino teaming up with you because of their infatuation.  Their little crush would hopefully cool him down and eliminate his ambition.  In addition, Kurenai will be his sensei instead of Kakashi which means he won't be learning the Chidori anytime soon.  Sure everyone insisted that Kakashi is a better candidate to be Sasuke's sensei since that are similar but Kurenai is a woman who can become a mother figure to Sasuke.  Anyhow, Kakashi knows about a thousand jutsus so I would be stupid to not learn from him.  He probably has some jutsus that are from other villages which are ones that I am after.

     "I feel sorry for Sasuke too," said Naruto.  "But we should also be happy for Sakura and Ino who got what they wanted.  Let's go grab something to eat before our sensei comes."

     Hinata and Kiba nodded and followed the carrier of the demon fox.

     "Hey, how long is he going to keep us waiting?" Kiba asked.  "The other teams have already gone out with their instructors."

     "Maybe sensei is sick today and couldn't make it," said Hinata.

     "Oh, he will be here.  Just sit and relax for now.  He'll show up soon enough.  If not, we can relax a bit longer."  Naruto was sitting and creating a list.

     "What are you doing Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. 

     "Creating a list of supplies we might need for our training.  I'm just being prepare, Hinata-chan."

     The door slid open revealing a lazy looking ninja.  "Ha ha ha, sorry about being late.  I had to save some kids from a burning building."

     "Whatever Kakashi sensei," Naruto said lazily.

     "Oh, hi Naruto-kun.  Alright guys, let's go someplace so we can get acquainted."

     "Okay, let's start off by introducing ourselves."

     "What should we say sensei?" Hinata asked.

     "Hmmm… say your likes, dislikes, dreams, something like that.  Since you're the first to speak, why don't you start off."

     "Okay, I'm Hyuuga Hinata.  I like it when people are nice to me.  I dislike mean people.  My dream is to be strong since I'm the heir to the Hyuuga Clan."

     "I'll go next then," said Naruto.  "My name is Uzumaki Naruto.  I like a lot of things.  I dislike like a lot of things too.  My dream is to become a great and renowned ninja.  I don't want to become the Hokage since it's a lot of work, so I would rather become a Sennin who gets to travel anytime and anywhere they want.  Of course, I will help the Leaf right away when it's in trouble.  I want to protect the Leaf just like my father had done."

     Kiba seeing that it was his turn decided to ask his new sensei about himself first.

     "My name is Hatake Kakashi.  My likes and dislikes are none of your business so don't bother asking again.  Can't tell you much about my dreams but I do have a lot of hobbies.  Now back to you."

     "What kind of introduction is that?" Kiba complained.  "Anyways, I'm Inuzuka Kiba and this is my pal Akamaru.  We both dislike cats for obvious reasons.  My dream is also to become super strong along with Akamaru.  Hmmm… what I like at the moment is to see what you got hiding under that mask.  Naruto wears a mask too and I'm a bit curious on what he looks like but he never shows.  Since you are our sensei, you should…."

     "Afraid not," Kakashi said quickly.

     Hinata was disappointed.  Kiba brought up about Naruto wearing the mask all the time.  She was also curious about how he looked.  A slight blush appeared on her face.

     "Alright, that's enough now with our introductions.  We'll get to learn more about each other through firsthand experience real soon.  Our training starts tomorrow.  We're going to do some survival training."

     "Training?" Kiba asked.  "Didn't we do enough training at the academy already?"

     Kakashi noticed that Naruto and Hinata were both quiet and seems to want him to finish what he was saying.  "Out of the twenty-seven students that graduated, only 9 will become official Genins.  That gives you a sixty-six percent failure rate.  You get sent back to the academy to get retrained if you fail.  Makes you want to flip huh?"  He was certainly amused.  "Be at the training field tomorrow morning.  Our test will be there.  Bring all your ninja tools with you.  And another important note…don't eat breakfast since you will spill it all out."  With that said, Kakashi left.

     Naruto was amused at his sensei's antics.  "Don't mind him guys.  Eat breakfast tomorrow.  We will probably need the energy for tomorrow's training."

     Hinata and Kiba both nodded.

     Back at the lounge, the Jounin instructors gathered and discussed about the students they were assigned too. 

     "I have Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Yamanaka Ino on my team," Kurenai stated.  "The two girls seem to care more about relationships than they do with becoming a ninja.  They are infatuated with Sasuke.  Sasuke still seem to want revenge on his brother but his psychiatric treatment files shows that he is making results.  I guess I should also try to heal his wounds before he becomes what he hates the most.  This is what Naruto recommended right?"

     "Speaking of which, Naruto is assigned to your team right Kakashi?" Asuma asked.  "He should be around our level at the least.  The kid is sure focus on training.  He's almost like Lee, one of Gai's students.  I taught Naruto a few things."

     "I also had the chance to teach him as well.  I taught him some genjutsus."  Kurenai remembered it well.  Naruto was a very fast learner.

     "I guess we all taught him something," said Kakashi.  "Frankly, I don't know what to teach Naruto next.  Guess I need to have a little chat with him."

     The next morning came and both Hinata and Kiba showed up at the scheduled time.  It was an hour later that Naruto arrived.

     "You're late Naruto!" Kiba yelled.

     "Sorry guys.  I forgot to tell you that its okay to come late. Our sensei is notorious with being late to any occasion.  Did you guys eat breakfast yet?"  Seeing them nod, Naruto went around inspecting the area. 

     "What are you doing Naruto-kun?"  Hinata watched the young blond ninja walk around the area and showed gestures that he was thinking of something.

     "I'm just surveying the area to know the battle field.  I've been here before but it wouldn't hurt to check again to see if there is any spot that would endanger our mission.  Today's exercise, we are supposed to demonstrate teamwork by grabbing two bells from Kakashi sensei.  After we get the two bells, the one without it will be tied on one of those logs and fail the exam without lunch.  Of course he is just saying that to divide our team.  We'll pass if we show him how good we work as a team."

     "How do you know about that?" Kiba asked.

     "I heard about this type of test before.  Information is just as handy as a sharp blade they say."

     It was right before noon when Kakashi decided to show up.  "There are two bells here.  You are to take the bells away from me by using any means necessary.  The last one who doesn't have a bell will be tied to a post without lunch, plus that person will fail and be sent back to the academy.  If you don't have any questions, we begin now!"

     Immediately, Hinata disappeared in a leap leaving Naruto and Kiba behind.

     "I think you guys got the wrong idea of this exam," said Kakashi.

     "Oh, we have the right idea alright!" Kiba announced.  "We're going to take those bells away from you by force."

     The two boys began to dash towards their Jounin sensei.  Kiba began attacking Kakashi's bottom half while Naruto attacked the upper half.  They hoped that this type of strategic attacks would tire out their sensei.  Kiba made continuous sweeps and using his family's claw techniques to slash his sensei's knees.  On the other hand, Naruto aim for Kakashi's abdomen and had to resort to perform aerial attacks in order to attack the face. 

     These boys are good, Kakashi thought.  He could hardly keep up with them.  Their attacks seem to be synchronized.  What worried him was how Naruto was taking a long time to snatch the bells away from him.  He should have gotten the bells already.  Naruto was able to fight on equal terms with Gai, so getting the bells shouldn't be a problem.

     "Beast Effect Nin-Pou! Shikyaku no Jutsu!"  Kiba got down on all fours mimicking a dog that was about to attack.  His finger nails grew into claws as chakra flows through his body.  Faster than normal eyes can see, he disappeared and reappeared, smashing his elbow into Kakashi's gut.

     As soon as Kiba launch his attack, Naruto perform his own move.  "Tatsumaki Sepukyaku!"  Naruto jumped up and preformed the hurricane kick.  He sent four consecutive kicks to his sensei's face.  He had spent months on practicing that move seeing how he was now able to jump high.  It was Ryu and Ken's special move from Street Fighter 2, a video he used to play in his other life. 

     One of the advantage of having this top shape body is that I'm able to do moves from those video games I used to play.  I was planning to use these moves only during emergencies but I can't help showing off once in awhile.  Thanks to them, I got a shit load of attacks.

     Kakashi didn't know what hit him.  The attacks came on pretty fast and the only thing he could do was block until one of them lets up and makes a mistake.  He was barely blocking the boys' moves.  The advantage he had over them is in size, which is the length of his arms and legs.  It seems like Kiba was also pretty good in taijutsu.  Then it occurred to him that he had completely forgotten to keep track of Kiba's dog. 

     Meanwhile, Hinata was sitting at the designated meeting spot where she was suppose to meet up with the boys.  Next to her were Naruto, Kiba, and Akamaru.

     "Okay, everything is going as planned," Naruto stated.  "I made quick seals before we met here and create Kage Bushins to keep Kakashi busy for awhile.  Let him tire out a bit before we start our real attack.  Two of the clones used Henge and transformed into Kiba and Akamaru, so don't be surprised if you see them there."

     "Good thinking Naruto-kun," Hinata complemented.  She was felt really assured that Naruto was in her group.  He had always tried hard in everything he does and doesn't quit until he gets it right.  He was the exact opposite of her.  In truth, she really admires her blond friend and wants to be like him. 

     "What do we do now Naruto?" Kiba asked.

     "We wait for the signal.  If my guess is correct, all my clones will be dispersed before the signal is given.  I will create more Kage Bushins and use Henge and transform into our other classmates, namely people from Team Eight and Ten.  I won't be there in case Kakashi sensei actually gets out of our trap.  I will be our hidden trump card.  If you see me running out towards the fight so early and Kakashi sensei is nowhere to be seen, then he used Henge to turn into me.  If he transform into our other classmates, I will disperse that clone so that we will know who is Kakashi.  In case he turns into one of you, our password will be 'where is Naruto'.  Everyone got it?"

     Hinata and Kiba both nod.

     "Kiba, you join in on the fight and make sure you don't hit any of the Bushins.  Hinata, you will also attack Kakashi sensei.  Use your Gentle Fist style to stop chakra from going into his hands.  This way, he can't do hand seals for a short moment.  Akamaru, you role is equally important.  Your job is to grab the bells and make a run for it.  Kakashi sensei usually uses Kawarimi No Jutsu and replace himself with a log, so watch out for that.  Be prepared once a log appears.  Everyone got it?"

     Everyone nodded.

     "Then we will wait for the signal.  It should be a loud bang."

     Back at the fight, Kakashi just began to counter attack.  The boys seem to be letting up a bit which gave him enough time to use Kawarimi No Jutsu and reappear to throw a kunai at each of them to disrupt their synchronization.  He then attacked Kiba first knowing that he would have a harder time taking on Naruto if the blond had some help.  As he gotten close to Kiba, he felt a tag on his pouch.  It was Akamaru who had bitten onto his Come Come Paradise book.  The dog managed to take the book out of the pouch but landed on the ground hard as Kakashi turned with enough force to knock it away.  It was then that Akamaru poof back into Naruto.

     What the?  Naruto used Henge to turn into Akamaru?"

     Kiba attacked Kakashi again while he was momentarily lost in his thoughts but was hit across the face with a punch to the gut.  The hit he received deactivated the Henge turning him back into Naruto.

     Kiba is Naruto too?  Wait a second, these three are Kage Bushins! I got to get out of this quick.

      "Kage Bushin No Jutsu!"  Kakashi made six clones to out number Naruto's clones.  As the last Naruto clone dispersed, so did the other Kakashi clones.  He surveyed the field in case the three students of his were going to attack.  What made him weary was that they didn't when the time to attack him was perfect.  What is their plan, he wondered.  Kakashi saw his precious book where Naruto had dropped it.  He naturally picked the book up.  He looked around the field again in case they had some how sneaked up on him while he was picking up his book.  When everything seemed to be ordinary, he flipped the book open to the last page where his book mark was.

     Wait a second, I don't use book marks!

     A loud explosive sound was heard toward the direction where Kakashi was at.  Naruto gestured his partners that it was time to precede to the next plan.  "Kage Bushin No Jutsu!"

     That was way too close for comfort.  That Naruto is dangerous.  He used explosive notes and put it into my book like it was a book mark.

     Kakashi had barely got away from the explosive charms Naruto left in his book.  The blast still got him and he could still hear ringing inside his head.  He was on his knees as he tried to shake the dizziness away.  Then he saw some blurs at the corner of his eyes.  He called chakra to his feet and jumped away as far as possible but he was knocked out of the sky from the back.  As he looked who his attackers were, he saw unfamiliar faces of kids about his students' age.  What is going on, he asked himself.

     As soon as Kakashi landed, the unfamiliar kids began to lock his arms and legs so that he couldn't move.  Each of the kids holds onto one of his arms and legs, immobilizing him.  Before he got to use his size advantage to swing them away, Hinata appeared in front of him as so was Kiba.  Are these more of Naruto's Kage Bushins, he wondered. 

     It was then Hinata activated her Byakugan and started sending chakra into her hands. 

     Byakugan?  She isn't a Bushin.

     Kakashi struggled to shake the kids off of him.  The kids were strong and heavier than they should be.  Then he noticed that he couldn't move his legs at all now.  As he looked at his legs' condition, they were covered with webbing which clued him to the floor.  "Kumo-Nenkin?"  This is Naruto's favorite move which makes these kids Naruto, he thought.

     Hinata continued to attack her opponent's arm like Naruto had instructed her too.  Kiba attacked his sides, giving him body blows so that the impact would disrupt his sensei's nervous system, disallowing him to control his legs momentarily.  It was then that Akamaru jumped off of Kiba and reached up and grabbed the bells with its teeth.  Akamaru ran away from the group at a good distance when Naruto appeared next to him.

     "Looks like we won, Kakashi sensei!" Naruto yelled.

     Hinata and Kiba heard Naruto's voice and quickly stopped their attacks and ran towards their other teammate.  As they got close to Naruto, they caught the bells which Naruto had thrown to them.

     The Bushins that Naruto made dispersed after they had finished what they were meant to do.

     "You guys sure play rough," said Kakashi.  "Your teamwork is very good.  Naruto came up with the plan I'm guessing.  The plan and diversion were both good.  But Naruto, how come your Bushins transformed into those people?"

     "Well, if there were six Narutos in the field, we would all have a problem if you decided to transform into me.  That would cause a lot of problems and our plan would be ruin.  So I had to transform into different people who Hinata and Kiba knows so that they can differentiate the clones from you."

     "Wise move Naruto," Kakashi praised.  "You all passed.  This exam as you already know is to test your teamwork."

     "Yeah, I know," said Naruto, "which was why I didn't grab the bells away from you when the exam began."

     "You do know you have an ego right Naruto?  I should have created a different test for you guys but I was lazy.  If it wasn't for Naruto being on the team, I wouldn't have messed up so badly.  I was too cautious about him, which made me lose focus.  That won't happen again.  Anyways, you are all officially Genins now.  Meet me at the bridge tomorrow at noon.  Oh, you guys owe me a new book.  Now, get me out of this webbing."

Author's Note:

Well, that's the end of the bell examination.  I added Ryu and Ken's hurricane kick in the story to remind every that this is an SI fanfic.  If you are wondering how Naruto can do Kiba's move, it's because he was trained by the Third.  The Third is supposed to know all the jutsus and stuff in the Hidden Leaf Village.  Naruto could also look in up in one of the many scrolls in the Third's library.  Yeah, he's a Jounin level ninja.  He could have graduated early and stuff but it will screw up the story right?  But don't think Naruto is all bad ass yet.  He's still a twelve year old and his body isn't mature enough to hold Kyuubi's power. 

Naruto is Spiderman?  Not really, but close enough.  He sure does move like Spiderman and has the speed, agility, flexibility, and able to shoot webbing.  But, he doesn't have a spider sense or lift 10 ton.  Although Naruto is pretty strong and he is still wearing a weighted vest which is heavier than what it originally was.  How strong is he?  You will have to find out.  How he got webbing?  Find out next chapter.

Does it seem like the character interaction is short?  I kinda wanted to finish the bell examination scene before going more in depth and such. 


	3. A Day in Konoha

Better Equipped

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. 

: Thoughts

Chapter 3 – A day in Konoha

     "You suck Naruto!" Ino said jokingly.  "How can you let Shikamaru beat you?"

     "Hey, it's not like I play GO all the time," Naruto defended himself.  "I have to train and stuff."

     Damn, looks like I didn't learn anything from watching Hikaru No Go.  It was a good anime though.  Too bad this world doesn't have things like that.  Thinking about it again, all the GO games in that serious was fast and probably too complex for an amateur like me.  I just watch it because it was entertaining not because I was really interested in that game.  Anyway, the point of playing GO is for me to become a better strategist in times of war.  In case something like that happens.

     "At least give me a good challenge if you called me out," Shikamaru said.  "But it's understandable since you just learned how to play."

     "That was boring!  You guys wasted thirty minutes of my life!" Inner Sakura screamed.

     "Play me again!  This time it won't be so easy." 

     "Forget it Naruto," Shikamaru said.  "We all know that I would win again.  Why bother?  It'll be troublesome."

     Naruto looked him in the eyes with a serious expression.  "If I don't keep trying, how do you expect me to get better?  Can't become stronger if everything is troublesome right?"

     "No way!" Ino interrupted.  "Let's do something else.  It's no fun just watching you guys play."

     "Why are you girls here anyways," Shikamaru asked.  "Don't you have any missions or training to do today?  Where is Sasuke?"

     "You know we are perfectly capable of doing things without Sasuke," Sakura said.  "We saw you guys through the window and decided to see what you both were doing."

     Both of them knew Naruto and Shikamaru from class.  Naruto was the only one who was able to score above Sasuke in every area, which made him this year's number one rookie.  Not only was there a genius Uchiha in their class, there was also the genius Uzumaki.  Two geniuses appeared this year in the Hidden Leaf village, but Sasuke to their eyes was cuter.  Naruto was a bit more mysterious however especially because the mask he wore covering half his face.  He was always quite during class time and always spoke when he had questions.  Outside of class, he was cheery and numerous of times helped them get along with Sasuke.  He was a cool person.

     "Besides, he rather do things on his own when we don't have a mission."

     "Well, don't let that stop you," said Naruto.  "Sasuke is just playing hard to get or something.  His entire clan got wiped out so it's hard for him to get close to people.  So, it's up to you girls to open up his heart and make him…normal.  Anyways, only you girls can do it."

     "You bet your ass!" Inner Sakura yelled.

     "So how goes your missions," Naruto asked.  "Run into any trouble?"

     "We haven't done any dangerous missions or done any real training."  Ino then remembered how the past few days went.  "Everyone mostly concentrated on making Sasuke feel at home.  Kurenai sensei taught us more about the ninja life and her experience of being as ninja.  We relearned about Konoha was created by the First Hokage and how everyone in the village is apart of one big family.  Sensei emphasis how important it is to have a family.  It has been real educational.  But everyone can tell that Sasuke is annoyed about the lack of training.  He's hanging in there and does listen.  I think we are breaking through to him."

     "That's good.  You girls keep up the good work."  Naruto was laughing inside.  He wonders how his experiment will turn out.  "Just think how you would feel in his position ad what you can do to make him feel better.  Last thing we want is for him to run out on the Leaf."

     "I don't think it will be that bad right?" Sakura asked worryingly.  "You got to have more faith in Sasuke-kun and us for helping him."

     The blond boy smiled genuinely.  "I sure am jealous of that bastard.  He got two cute girls helping him full-heartedly.  Plus he has a very cute sensei."

     "NARUTO!" they both yelled while blushing.

     "That is our sensei you are talking about!" Ino screamed.

     "It's okay girls.  For some odd reason, I like Anko more."

     The girls looked confused since they haven't been introduced to Orochimaru's first student.  They wonder who this Anko person is whom their friend had mentioned.

     "Anyways, I have Hinata in my group and she is cute too."

     "You're a pervert you know that?" Ino asked.

     "How's your team doing Shikamaru?" Sakura asked. 

     "All our missions have been fairly easy so far, which is good.  Chouji is the same as always.  We got to learn more about Shino who had always been quiet in class.  Asuma is actually laid back.  It's troublesome when he tries to challenge us more.  He would make me play GO with him and solve puzzles and other stuff.  At least we don't have to go through some training.  This is just the way I like it."

     Sounds like only Team Seven is the only team who is actually doing work.  Wonder how they will do in the Chuunin exam.  No training?  I have to work my ass off doing shit loads of things.  I can still remember the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken training.  My hands were about to turn into BBQ.  Roasting chestnuts over an open fire…who was the crazed ass person to think of that technique?  Well, I was crazy enough to learn it.  The Bakusai Tenketsu training wasn't a walk in the park either.  Getting smash by a big boulder isn't something fun.  Think I developed a phobia for boulders for a few days afterwards.  Man, those Ranma ½ techniques are really dangerous to learn.  If it wasn't because I have Kyuubi's healing powers, I would be dead I think.

     "Well, if you girls don't want to watch us play, what else do you have in mind?" Naruto asked.  It was then that he noticed a familiar face that just talked through the sweets hop they were in.  That person was none other then Uchiha Sasuke.  At first, Naruto stared at him uneasily.  It was always like that since he could remember.  It was his fault that Sasuke is the way he was now.  Maybe fate has it so that the Uchiha Clan has to meet this disaster no matter what.  Naruto pushed all his feelings down and greeted his friend. "Yo, Sasuke!"

     "Sasuke-kun!" both of the girls yelled. 

     "What?" Sasuke replied.  "What are you four doing here?"  He saw that Naruto was with them.  He considered the blond boy as a rival of sorts.  Although they weren't really competing in class, it seems Naruto did better in everything and that doesn't suits well.  He needed to become stronger so he could kill his older brother and avenge his clan. 

     "Me and Shikamaru was playing GO.  Ino and Sakura were my cheerleaders."

     "NO WE WEREN"T!" both girls screamed.

     Sasuke stared at his rival.  The blond boy sure knows how to have a good time it seems.  Guess geniuses do have time to have fun every now and then, he thought.  The Uchiha heir was thinking about how his psychologist told him to have more fun and enjoy life.  His sensei also warned him that if he continues to be cold and hungry for power, he would turn into something that he hated; his older brother. 

     Perhaps Kurenai sensei is right.  I should focus on the important thing right now, which is to rebuild the clan.  It is my duty as its last survivor.  But I just can't let Itachi get away with this.  I should be the one who kills him since it is my right and duty.  What should I do?

     Everything can back to him-the memories of that day when his clan was destroyed.  His grandparents' bodies were lying on the streets.  His parents' bloodied body was right behind the front door.  Sasuke remembered the Sharingan that his brother activated.  He also remembered the pain that his own brother delivered to him before he went missing.

     I will kill you Itachi!

     Looks like Sasuke is thinking about his brother.  His muscles are tensed up.

     A box that was camouflaged to look like a rock was inching behind them.

     Naruto smirked at his friend's unsuccessful attempt to sneak and surprise them.  "Okay Konohamaru, we all know it's you in the box.  Come on out."

     "I wouldn't expect anything less from the person I most admire," said a voice coming from the box. 

     The area was soon filled with smoke as Konohamaru can out with his so-called flashy entrance.

     "Hey Naruto- nii-chan, gramps wants to see you," said Konohamaru.  "I was going to ask if you can play with us but it looks like you have a mission to do."

     This caught Sasuke's attention.  Being a Genin wasn't what he expected.  He thought there will be dangerous missions and hard training but every task they received were very laid back.  At this rate, he would still be weaker than his brother.  He needs to catch up to his brother's level.  Itachi was already an Anbu at my age, he thought.  "Naruto, I want to accompany you on this mission."  He looked at his rival's eyes with a stern look to show he was serious.  He had no time to waste on foolish missions since he has an ambition to fulfill. 

     The girls were also caught by surprised at Sasuke's request.

     Naruto nodded since he knew that he couldn't stop Sasuke from coming if he wanted.  The Uchiha heir was stubborn to the core and would show up anyways even if uninvited.  He actually owes the guy a lot so he couldn't say no.  At least he wouldn't say no with the mission was a D Rank.

     "Konohamaru, what job did Hokage-sama assigned us?"

     Konohamaru thought about what his grandfather told him.  "I think you and your team are to retrieve a runaway cat."

     Oh, I finally get to catch that darn cat.  This means that I will be facing Zabuza and Haku soon.  I'll probably end up meeting them today.  A good thing I already packed supplies for this mission since it came kinda short notice.

     ZOOM

     "You hear that Sasuke?" Naruto asked.  "Our mission is too…."  He then noticed a smoke trail from where Sasuke was standing that lead to the outside.

     The girls sweet dropped.

     "I guess Sasuke-kun isn't really thrilled about that mission," Sakura offered to explain. 

     "We came back with the cat," Hinata as she returned it to its owner.

     The mission was a success of course.  Kiba and Akamaru used their nose to sniff its scent while Hinata used her Byakugan to locate its exact position.  It was up to Naruto to actually catch the darn thing.  Kiba was against the mission from the beginning since he disliked felines for obvious reasons. 

     As the council was about to hand the team a new mission, Naruto spoke first and asked for a harder mission.  Kiba backed Naruto saying that their skills were getting rusty upon doing low-level task.  Iruka went on and explain the ninja ranks and how Genins get low-rank jobs because of their lack of skill and experience.  The Hokage laughed at Naruto's complaints and offered them a rank C mission which just came to them.  They were supposed to protect someone to their destination.

     "Bodyguard work?" Kiba asked?  "Now we're talking."

     "Are we really ready for something like this?" Hinata said worryingly.  She then saw Naruto looking at her with a confident smile.  Something within her heated up giving her a sense of confidence.  "Yes, we are ready for the task."

     The team was introduced to Tazuna.  He was a construction worker who needed protection from bandits while traveling home.

     "So this is the team who is supposed to protect me huh?" Tazuna asked.  "They are kinda young for this don't you think?  Won't they get killed?  Won't I get killed?"

     Kakashi saw that tension between his students and his clients and planned to defuse the bomb.  "Don't worry about it Tazuna-san.  They may be young but they are very skilled.  Naruto here is this year's number one rookie.  He is very capable of handling this himself if need be.  The other two are the heirs to two of the most respective clans in our village.  They both have very good skills.  I will also accompany you in this mission so you do not have to worry."

     Tazuna was shocked.  "You mean that shrimp is that good?"

     No one can blame Naruto for getting pissed.  He drank three glasses of milk each day and actually ate right to give his body the correct nutrients.  Whatever he does, he was still short for someone his age.  He wondered if his body was acting strange due to Kyuubi or maybe he just grow slowly.  He was about an inch shorter than Ino and Sakura but at least taller than Hinata.  "Don't judge a book by its cover old man.  This shrimp may actually save your life out there so don't make me angry.  You wouldn't like it when I'm angry."

     Did I just say that?  Appropriate though….but still.

     "Give us fifteen minutes to pack," said Naruto.  "We can't screw up this mission."

     I can't believe it.  I've been waiting almost ten years for this day to come.  My team and I will protect Tazuna-san from Zabuza and Haku.  I'll be lying if I say I'm not nervous about this trip.  Haku is a good person who doesn't deserve the fate he was given in the original series.  I ran through this part of the saga many times but haven't found a path that would let Haku live and join our side with one hundred percent success without any failure.  We have to kill Zabuza, since he may become a threat to us later.  That is the problem because I'm not sure if Haku would hate us if we killed the one person he cares for.  If we do kill Zabuza, the situation may turn opposite of what I wanted and Haku will not only not join the Leaf but plot to work against it.  It all depends on Haku's personality and the strong bond he has for his father/brother figure.  There are other ways but they are too risky.  Guess time will tell.  Maybe Zabuza and Haku can't runaway from the fate they were given.

     Naruto met up with the team by the eastern gates of Konoha.  He changed his black shirt for a similar shirt which has a hood attached to it.  He carried a camping pack which holds weapons to things he needed for traveling purposes.  He carried an extra pouch which carried a set of kunais and shurikens.  "Let's move out!"

     Ever since the mission began, Naruto has kept his head down, staring at the ground while he walked.  He would raise his head to speak or answer to his teammates after he was sure that there wasn't a small puddle anywhere.  The group had traveled a good distance away from Konoha now because they have been walked nonstop.  It was then that Naruto noticed the puddle on the ground which shouldn't be there.

     Naruto stopped walking and gestured his group that was behind him to stop.  He kept his hand in back of him and gestured that danger was present.  Kakashi immediately surveyed the area with his single eye and noticed a puddle a few feet in front.  The Copy Ninja made small gesture to his other students to be cautious and guard Tazuna.

     Uzumaki Naruto pulled out a kunai and wrapped an exploding tag onto its handle.  He then threw it directly to the puddle with amazing speed.  As soon as the kunai hit the puddle, blood could be seen mixing with the clear water.  It was then that the Missing Mist Ninjas dissolve their genjutsu.  The kunai that Naruto threw had hit one of the assassins and that ninja pulled it out of him and dropped it on the floor.  The Missing Mist Ninjas then started to dash towards their target until an explosion behind them knocked them unbalanced. 

     Naruto ran forward with one kunai on each hand and ran in between the assassins while slicing the side of their abdomen.  He then flipped backwards and extended his legs to deliver blows on the back of the head of the enemies.  As soon as he landed, he places his arms behind him after dropping the kunais and released webbing from his fingers.  "Kumo-Nenkin."  The Mist assassins were cocooned from the neck down, immobilizing them. 

     Kumo-Nenkin was one of Naruto's favorite techniques because it was very useful.  Spiderman was one of his favorite comic characters in his past life and his webbing always saved the hero from dangerous situations all the time.  Being in a ninja world where everything was almost possible, he started to experiment on making a jutsu created and shoots web.  He remembered that one of the Five Sound Ninjas who is Orochimaru's personal guards had spider like techniques.  That person was able to create and shoot webs from his sweat glands.  Naruto assumed that the web was made from combining sweat and chakra.  He visited the Aburame Clan many times for pointers since they are a clan the specialized with bugs.  It took a lot of trial and errors but he was successful.  The webs were very helpful from immobilizing his targets, catching objects and people, and web swinging for pure enjoyment. 

     "Good work Naruto," Kakashi commented.

     "You could have at least saved some for us you know," Kiba complained.  His friend was taking all the spotlights again.

     Hinata was blushing.  She knew that Naruto was good but didn't know how amazing he was.  He took care of the assassins as fast as they appeared.  She wouldn't be able to do that.  Ever since they joined as a team, Naruto had been training her.  He was trying to improve her confidence and improve her Hyuuga main house special techniques.  She knew she had changed but still not up to full confidence. 

     "Don't worry," said Naruto.  "There will other bad guys around.  You'll get your turn."

     That boy is good, Tazuna was thinking.  He sure underestimated the shrimp.  He may seem small and innocent but he's a real ninja.

     "Perhaps you want to tell us everything now Tazuna-san."  Naruto didn't want to tell the story himself since he really can't explain to everyone how he knew everything beforehand.  He might as well end up having psychiatric treatment like Sasuke.

     Kakashi felt like it was his turn to say something.  He was in fact the sensei after all so he has to appear like he was ahead of things.  "I didn't have time to evaluate whom our enemies were targeting since they have been put out beforehand.  But the target seems to be you Tazuna-san.  Our counsel wasn't sure how dangerous this mission was and by judging on what information you given, they deduced this as a rank C mission.  We were supposed to only protect you from thieves or gangs and not assassins which are stated on our contract.  This mission should be a rank B mission at the least.  The price for our contract would have been higher.  Now, we are working outside of our contract."

     Naruto seeing how plans might change decided to interrupt.  "Tazuna-san…tell us more about why they want to kill you.  Perhaps we can work something out but only if you stop keeping secrets."

     The group continued to head towards Tazuna's town.  The bridge designer recount how important it was for him to return home and complete his bridge because it was the town's last hope to survive.  The group naturally understood the situation and decided to continue the mission.  Kakashi wasn't worried as much since he had Naruto with him who was a Jounin level ninja.  If thing gets out of hand, they should have enough power to deal with it.  The group had just gotten off their little boat ride and was now walking on land again.  Everyone was now in Mist territory and the growing fog was the proof of it.

     The fog is growing thick quick.  Zabuza should be appearing soon.  I'm beginning to sense his presence.

     Naruto who was walking ahead of the group, raised his right arm to signal his group to stop.  "We are not alone.  Hinata, switch on your Byakugan.  Kiba and Akamaru, use your sense to find the enemy.  Use you nose and ears."

     "Duck!" Hinata cried as see saw the incoming weapon.

     The weapon turned out to be a big sword which was now stuck in the tree as it missed its target.  A tall man dropped down and landed on the side of the blade. 

     "The Hidden Mist's Missing-Nin Momochi Zabuza?" Kakashi asked.  "I didn't expect to see someone like you here?"

     "And you are Sharingan Kakashi correct?" Zabuza asked in return.  "I have no quarrel with you.  That old man with you is mine.  It would be best for both our interest if you leave him to me."

     "Surround Tazuna," Kakashi commanded.  "This isn't an examination.  This is as real as it gets.  Teamwork will be the big factor if we win or lose today and I don't plan to lose."  He then proceeds to uncover his left eye to reveal the Sharingan.  "Fight me!"

     As Naruto watched the scene in front of him and was amazed how it was similar to what he remembered watching on television in his past life.  Haku should be lurking around somewhere.  "Guys, don't let up okay?  I have a feeling that someone else is somewhere here.  I haven't sensed him yet but be prepared.  Hinata, continue using your Byakugan to scan the area.  Kiba and Akamaru, you both have the same jobs as Hinata but use your other senses instead.  Notify us once you catch someone.  I will be on guard in case anything happens. 

     "Watch out!" Kakashi cried. 

     Naruto instantly was on full alert.  He was so focus on giving orders to his teammates that he didn't pay attention to the battle in front of them.  In a second, Zabuza appeared within the circle they formed to protect Tazuna.  Naruto blocked the enemy's huge blade with his kunai.  Naruto was struggling to push the man back.  The huge blade that man was using to push Naruto was heavy due to its size.  The strength of the man added to the swords weight was enabling them to continue to push Naruto down.  The blond boy did not like the situation.  He had recently increased the weights he wore which decreased his strength further during battle.  He needed to do something fast or else he would lose this pushing game.  "Here's web in your eyes!"  Naruto shot webs into Zabuza's eyes and covered them.  Then he grab Zabuza's left arm and threw him away from the group where Kakashi was standing.  "Damn, he's heavy!"

     Zabuza cried out in rage and fear for he doesn't know what just happened to him. 

     "Good work!" Kakashi complemented.  "Continue on guarding Tazuna until I get back." 

     Zabuza managed to tear off the webbing from his eyes and saw Kakashi was running straight at him.  In an instant, he dodges the Sharingan user's move and jumped by to give him some space.  He then created water clones to attack his opponent.  "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"

     Kakashi was able to see Zabuza perform the move even in the heavy fog.  "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"

     It was water clones fighting water clones.  Water was splattered everywhere once a clone got dispersed.  Zabuza who was more experience with making the water clones managed to make numerous clones that outnumbered Kakashi's.  With so much water on the ground, Zabuza did another of his water based jutsus. 

     "Suirou no Jutsu!"  Zabuza made a water prison and trapped Kakashi within it.  "You aren't so great after all."  He then dispersed all his water clones and left one to finish his job. 

     "This doesn't look good," said Naruto.  "You guys continue to scan the area.  Hinata, it's up to you to keep track of the fight while looking for our hidden guest with your Byakugan."  Naruto then charge at Zabuza.  "You got water clones?  Then you'll have to see my shadow clones.  Kage Bushin No Jutsu!"

     This time it was shadow clones against water clones.  The water clones were seriously outmatched.  It seems that shadow clones were stronger than water clones plus Naruto showed impressive taijutsu skills.  Naruto then launched kunais with attached exploding tags by where the real Zabuza is standing.  Even though Zabuza managed to evade then explosion, his effort to evade that move gave Naruto enough time to reach him.

     "Burn Knuckle!"  Naruto's right fist was suddenly inflamed with blue chakra.  Zabuza was sent back at a far distance from the big impact.  He was sent into the lake.

     Burn Knuckle?  That move is almost similar to my Chidori.  It's not as lethal but it seems to be very effective.  I didn't copy it since I was too busy thinking of a way out, but looks like Naruto did the job for me.

     Kakashi was now free from the water prison.  "Thanks."

     "If you want to thank me, be sure to teach me all the jutsu you learned today from him.  These jutsus will probably come in handy."

     Kakashi ran towards Zabuza but was stopped when a water dragon shot upward toward him.  Kakashi managed to dodge the attack with a high jump. 

     Zabuza also jumped up and landed on top of the water as did Kakashi.  As the Mist's Missing-Nin went through his hand seals for his next jutsu, he noticed that Kakashi was imitating him perfectly.

     "Suiton · Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" they both yelled.

     Both of the water dragons came forth and neutralized each other.

     Naruto looked at his right arm to see why it was throbbing so much.  There weren't any wounds on it but it was hurting.  It happened right after his Burn Knuckle attack. 

     I wonder why it is hurting.  No traces of blood can be found or even marks.  Something must have happened internally.

     He placed his left hand over it and it hurt more when he touched it.

     Feels like I fractured my bone by doing that move.  I guess my bones are not yet strong enough for delivering that strong impact.  There was too much built up stress and it couldn't take it.  I'll need to gather up my chakra and heal it before it swells.

     Hinata who had been watching the fight and surveyed the area liked Naruto instructed finally saw someone.  The newcomer was wearing a mask and just landed on a tree branch.  "Naruto-kun!" 

     Naruto felt a presence of another person.  The person was strong enough for him to detect his chakra.  It was then that he heard Hinata shout.  As he turned around to face Hinata, he saw her pointing and followed that direction to see Haku.  "We know you are there, why don't you come down."

     Haku was startled that he was noticed instant when he got onto the scene.  He did as the short blond insisted so he wouldn't be suspicious. 

     "Judging from your mask, you are a Hunter-Nin from the Hidden Mist Village."  All Naruto got was a nod.  "Are you here after Zabuza?"  Again with another nod.

     "Suiton · Daibakufu no Jutsu!" Kakashi announced. 

     A tidal wave of water knocked down Zabuza.  Kakashi waited no farther as he threw a few kunais that successful hit its target. 

     Naruto tried to stop Haku when he saw that the masked boy was about to make his move.

Author's Notes:

I'm thinking of going more in-depth on Naruto's personality in the Chuunin Exam.  Right now, this Naruto still thinks that he is ready to take the world on but later, he will see how he still hasn't caught on that the world he is currently in is real.  Meaning that he finally feels that his situation isn't a game and it's a life or death theme.  So, I guess everyone has to wait till then.

One of the reader asked why Naruto didn't stop Itachi from killing everyone in his clan.  There is a reason and a story behind that but I was hoping to write that later on in the story.  I didn't explain it to well…build suspense.  Hehe…so sorry if you think that sucks.  The story is still building up.  It really picks up at the Chuunin exam where Naruto finally mentally grows up.  He's still think its cool being in an anime world and think its all fun and games but that would soon change.  I guess its unbelievable that a four year old Naruto can speak with the Hokage like that but I was thinking if Kakashi can graduate as a Genin at 6 and becomes a Chuunin at age 7 then Naruto can possibly take like this and not have people suspicious because he was some sort of genius.  He is the 4th's son and has Kyuubi inside him so he isn't normal right?

Why all the webbings and stuff?  I watched Spiderman 2 for the third time and I guess I was inspired…again.


	4. Aftermath of the First Contact

Better Equipped

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. 

: Thoughts

Chapter 4 – Aftermath of the First Contact

     It was fast but Naruto could see it.  He saw Haku bring out a pair of long needles and readied to use it to save his master.  As soon as Haku let the needles fly, Naruto threw his own kunai to intercept it, knocking it away with his good arm. 

     Haku stared at the blond ninja with a surprised look mixed with anger.  He was shocked that someone was able to knock his needles away and was furious that his master was going to die in front of him.

     "Don't worry about it," said Naruto.  "Zabuza will soon be gone and your job will be finish here.  I was afraid that you needles will hit my sensei by accident, so I hope you can forgive my actions."

     Even if the ninja was polite, he can't let this fight continue as it is.  With some quick and seals, he vanished and reappeared near Zabuza.

     Naruto also performed his own transportation jutsu to catch up with Haku.  "Konoha Shunshin no Jutsu!"  Naruto reappeared next to Haku with leaves trailing him and grabbed the boy's arm before throwing him away. 

     Haku anticipated being thrown quickly used his quick speed to run towards Zabuza after his feet touched the ground. 

     Damn, Haku is really not going to let Zabuza die like this.  If this continues, I will need to fight with him head on.  I haven't healed my fractured arm yet.  If Zabuza dies like this and he gets really ticked, there will be no way they he would join the Leaf.  I was hoping that Zabuza died before he got here but looks like I need to go with another plan.  We should let them go for now.  Hopefully, I will see Haku on friendly terms and we can talk.

     "You are a Hunter-Nin of the Mist?" Kakashi asked. 

     "I thank you for helping me apprehend this criminal.  Since me is from the Mist, it is my duty to kill him myself.  I hope you understand."

     Naruto was just staring at them.  I know he's lying but I can't do anything right now since it can jeopardize my plans, he thought. 

     Haku took out two other long needles and thrust it into Zabuza's neck.  The Missing-Nin started to cry in pain before lying motionless.  Kakashi studied Zabuza's breathing from analyzing if the chest was moving.  It seems like Zabuza is not breathing which left him satisfied.

     After Haku picked up Zabuza's body and vanished, Naruto spoke up.  "Sensei, aren't Hunter-Nins suppose to dispose of the body where the person was killed?  How come he used long needles instead of something with a blade?  And to strike at the neck like the way he did.  It may look like a death strike but the neck has some tricky places where you can survive a wound like that and live."

     Kakashi's eyes widen.  "You mean…."

     "We've just been had.  That Hunter-Nin was in fact his accomplice."

     It was the Kakashi's body went limp.  Over usage of the Sharingan used up all his chakra.  Naruto picked up his sensei and walked over to his teammates.

     "Is Kakashi sensei alright Naruto-kun?"  Hinata was worried.  They ended up winning the fight but her sensei collapsed at the end.  She didn't notice he has any mortal wounds. 

     "He's alright.  Just used up all his chakra from using his Sharingan.  Should be fine with a few days of rest.  We should continue heading towards Tazuna-san's home."

     "What just happened Naruto?" Kiba asked.  "Who was that guy who showed up wearing that mask?"

     "It turns out that guy pretended to be a Hunter-Nin of the Mist Village.  I'm assuming that he works with Zabuza, which means there is a good chance that freak is still alive.  He sustains more damage than Kakashi so he won't be attacking anytime soon.  We will meet them again."

     "And you let him go?  You should be the one guarding Tazuna-san instead then."

     "I couldn't help it.  My arm's fractured.  You can take him on next time Kiba.  Be my guest."

     "Are you okay Naruto-kun?"

     "I'll be fine.  Just need to concentrate my chakra at my arm and increase the healing rate."

     Kakashi woke up and saw that he was lying in an unfamiliar place.

     "You're awake Kakashi sensei," said Hinata.

     Akamaru barked.

     "Akamaru said good morning," Kiba translated.  "How are you feeling?"

     "I used up a lot of chakra during the fight so I will need time to replenish."  He looked around the room and found Naruto.  "Did Naruto update you guys with our current information?"  Seeing that they nod their heads, he decided to continue.  "I'm going to be out of commission for awhile so I have your next mission for you.  I need you to become stronger.  Naruto will be in charge of your training."

     "Wait a second, Kakashi sensei," Naruto interrupted.  "If I'm going to train them, there will be no one left to look after Tazuna-san.  And don't forget what you promised me today."

     Kakashi nod his head, understanding the situation.  He was supposed to train Naruto all the jutsus he learned from fighting against Zabuza.

     "All of us are perfectly capable of training ourselves instead of having Naruto train us you know," Kiba rejected his sensei's idea.  "Naruto is the same age as us and became a Genin at the same time.  Even if he was the rookie of the year, there's not that much difference between him and us."  Kiba has also seen Naruto as his rival.  The blond ninja and Sasuke were the top of the class and he couldn't help but be jealous.  Chouji, Shikamaru, and he were always clowning around in class so it was reasonable for them not to be the number one rookie.  Naruto hung out with them after class sometimes so he sees him as an equal.  It will not settle with him to be taught by the blond Genin. 

     "Don't look so distressed Kakashi sensei."  Naruto reached into his pouch that was tied to his waste a brought out a box of bills.  There were sections in the box to separate different pills.  He took out a blue pill and threw it to Kakashi.  "That should help restore some of your chakra.  It should really help.  I know since I was the one who made it."

     The Copy Ninja of the Leaf Village understood what his student said and quickly swallowed the pill.  He then felt chakra returning to his body.  "I see that you have some skills in the medic field.  Who taught you?"

     "My aunt did.  You know her well."

     Kakashi moved his arms and tightened his muscles to examine how much his body had recuperated.  He then proceeds to stand up and moved around a bit.  Seeing how everything was fine minus some pain in his body, he motions his students to gather around him.  "I guess I'll be the one who trains all of you.  Naruto, you will accompany Tazuna-san whenever he works on the bridge.  We will start to switch duties whenever I am a hundred percent well.  For now, everyone follow me to the forest."

     As they were heading out, a little kid wearing a hat came in and greeted his grandfather.  He then told the Leaf-Nins that they were wasting their time and will be killed if they stayed.  He then ran into his room.

     So that was Inari.  Guess I'll have a talk with him later.

     It seemed that Naruto and Hinata were both good enough with chakra manipulation.  Naruto was still not perfect with it since his body is constantly changing due to Kyuubi but he was good enough to walk on trees and water.  He could even do a handstand on water and show off by doing handstand pushups.  This left Kiba doing the tree climbing exercise alone.  Naruto suggested Hinata to practice using her Byakugan and her Main House techniques.  Kakashi told Naruto the hands seals to perform each of the jutsus he learned from Zabuza.  Naruto wrote them down on a scroll he carried to study them later when he has the time.  If Naruto wasn't training on his own, he was training Hinata. 

     Kiba was getting frustrated with the tree climbing exercise.  It was embarrassing that he was the only one who had to climb trees while his other teammates were doing what he considered to be real training.  He was staring at Naruto who was helping Hinata along with her training. 

     Damn that Naruto!  He's always a showoff.  How come he's training Hinata anyways?  Does he think he's too good that he has to train her to be up to his level?  We're the same age and I'm from one of Konoha's prized clans.  He better not come over here and shove it in that he is Konoha's number one rookie.  I need to get stronger.

     "Hey Naruto!  What is it?  You don't have anything to do?  Why don't you train instead of showing off to Hinata?  I don't see you training me!"

     "That's because she's a lot prettier than you."

     That earned a few chuckle from Kakashi.  "You should continue the tree training exercise.  It might not be fun but there is a big theory behind the training.  If you could master it, it would mean that you will be able to master any jutsu.  It takes time and patience.  Naruto has done this type of training before and Hinata is good with focusing her chakra do you her clan's taijutsu style.  They already demonstrated that they could climb trees so you need to work hard."

     Thinking what his sensei said, Kiba's anger died away slightly.  "Alright."

     "You are a soldier of the Leaf now so do act like one and become useful to the Leaf."

     Naruto knocked on Inari's door.  He proceeds to enter after the kid gave him permission.  "Yo!  I heard about your father."

     Inari became angry as the stranger mentioned his father.  "What do you know?  You came here for what?  Sooner or later you'll be dead.  There is no such thing as heroes."

     Naruto gave him a serious look then slapped the boy's face.  "I guess someone had to do that.  Look, I am just like you.  I lost my father when I was born and I was raised by another person who is like a father to me.  My father also died defending the village.  He defeated the strongest demon of them all and died doing so.  But he wasn't the only person who died.  Lots of other brave ninjas of the Leaf perish that day.  Everyone who fought was considered hero because they protect something that was important to them.  Your father was a hero in my eyes, which should e in your eyes too.  Why did he die?  He hadn't gone through the same training as us ninjas so he couldn't have fought and win against the number of people that attacked him.  If he did, that would have been another story.  But don't think that your father couldn't win because he wasn't trained to fight against that many people.  If the people in this village was brave enough to fight back, your father would have been alive and your grandfather's bridge would have already been built.  What I am trying to save that you need courage to become brave.  It's all in your heart.  Being strong means you protect the people you love."

     "But I didn't do anything!  I just stood there and watch."

     "You couldn't do anything by yourself anyways since you are a kid.  But learn from this and don't runaway.  There comes a time when you can't take shit anymore and fight back."

     "Whatever…."

     The next morning came and Naruto accompanied Tazuna to work.  It was the same as the anime and manga he read.  People just didn't have the guts to stand up for themselves.  The only people who understood that are Tazuna and Inari's deceased step father. 

     The people here seem to be very afraid of Gatou.  Have to admire the guy's tactic though even if it is ruthless.  He killed the town's hero to warn everyone in the village not to cross him since he knows that they were cowards.  Killing one man to warn a hundred. 

     "Don't give up Tazuna-san.  Everyone in the village will know what you are saying soon enough once they are completely fed up with their life and the way they are living it.  You are a strong man who will help guide the people back."

     "I wish I have your confidence young man.  This is not the first time they quit.  Even the closest friends may abandon you if the situation seems dire."

     Naruto nodded.  He understands what the older man was saying.  It is human nature to runaway from something that threatens its existence.  However, humans are also known to fight back.  "Then its up to you to bring them back towards the right path."

     As the workday came to an end, they both went shopping.  A guy at the grocery store tried to mug Naruto but stopped shortly after seeing a kunai next to his throat.  Tazuna explained more to Naruto about the village's bad economy and how important the bridge was.  Naruto didn't really think much about it really when he read this part of the saga in his past life but now that he was experiencing this firsthand, he felt…sad.  A kid came to him on the street and begged for some treats.  Naruto anticipated this and gave them some snacks he brought with him.  He didn't eat during his bodyguard duty.  In fact, he created Kage Bushins to help Tazuna with the construction work.  The real Naruto stayed next to Tazuna in case there was another attack. 

     Deep within a cavern of mazes kept a monstrous prison holding a monstrous creature.  The Nine Tails Demon Fox that the Fourth had sealed within Naruto is still currently behind bars.  No matter how much he clawed and slash, the bars on his prison wouldn't break.

     Naruto walked along the maze not really caring or paying attention to where he was going.  He finally found himself standing at the front door of the wild demon. 

     "So you came," said Kyuubi.  "What do you want this time?  I assume that you're not here to die."

     The loud voice startled him and woke him out of his trance.  "I don't know why I am here.  I must be asleep and my conscious somehow got here.  Not really a place I would personally choose to go if I might add."

     "Waiting for that girl to come are we?"

     "She's a guy Kyuubi.  How do you know what I'm doing anyways?"

     "Well, he sure does look like a girl from what you told yourself.  Don't forget, I am in you.  Whatever you think and say echoes throughout these caverns and ends up in my ears.  I find you very interesting.  Who would have thought that a man from another world would end up here?  The only real reason why I helped you before was to see how things play out.  Do you actually think this Haku will join your side?"

     "If I play my cards right then he will."

     Kyuubi laughed out loud.  His laughter echoes the entire area which sent chills to Naruto's body.  "You should know by now that some things just don't go according to plans no matter how much effort you put into it."

     This caused Naruto to become uneasy.  Kyuubi's words hit some thing painful.

     "I was with you all this time.  Your cries and your shouts have often traveled through this maze.  You failed the Uchiha Clan and you feel guilty about it.  You tried to help but actually made the situation worse and more complicated.  Hundreds of people died because…."

     "Shut up!  I should know the situation more than you do don't you think?  Some things can't be changed.  Maybe the Uchiha Clan was fated to meet this disaster even if I had to try to stop it.  Some things were fated to happen perhaps.

     "What I love is how you repeatedly torture that Clan's last survivor.  Continuously putting him into these situations and taking away the only thing that kept him alive."

     "So I'm trying to take his act of vengeance away, it will only help him more in the long run.  If you are able to hear my thoughts then you should know what it is in store for him and me. Putting him through psychiatric treatment may be too extreme but I hear he's coping better now."

     "The fact is that you are enjoying doing this to him."

     "I can't hide the fact that I do enjoy some of the things I've done.  I've changed the original timeline so I can't really say what the future will be.  I could plan but like you reminded me, some things can't be planned for.  I'll have to take each situation with the best of my abilities and have a bit of fun along with it.  Maybe you warped my mind somehow."

     "I did no such thing human."

     Naruto found himself laughing a bit in front of the demon.  "It would be nice to have Haku on our side.  He's an innocent boy and doesn't deserve the fate that was given to him.  It is a gift that I hold knowledge of the future.  I will use it to change whatever to my likings.  If I fail, that would be all but it won't stop me from continuing on."

     "Will you continue thinking that if this plan of yours fails?  What if you made the situation worse again?"

     "There really are no plans.  I just need to talk to him and try to persuade him to join our side.  At least let him know that Konoha will have a place for him." 

     Naruto found himself awake in the middle of a small field of flowers.  He hoped that this was the spot where Haku would come to find herbs.  He drifted off to sleep after being tired of waiting.  A sudden noise woke him up as he saw a cute face approaching him.

     Holy shit!  He does look like a girl!  Damn, that's just way too bad.  Oh well, I'm not gay.

     "I hope I didn't wake you," said Haku.

     "Don't worry about it.  It was time for me to get up anyways.  I'm assuming that you wanted to pick some herbs with that basket you are carrying.  Need help?"

     Haku smiled.  After they both started searching for the herbs, he decided to end the silence with come questions.  "Are you a ninja by any chance?"

     Naruto was happy that he asked that question.  It seems like everything was flowing like in the series.  This could both be good and bad.  "Yeah, I'm a ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village.  It's a good place to live.  There are a lot of good people there who doesn't judge you for what you are but by whom you are.  You should visit the village sometimes.  I bet you would fit in."  Naruto saw Haku's expression changed.  Guess I managed to hit a soft spot, he thought.  "Where are you from?"

     "I'm from around here.  I need to pick some herbs for my brother.  He's ill at the moment."

     "I see.  That's too bad."

     "Is being a ninja fun?"

     "Fun?  It depends on what you do.  There are some people who believed that ninjas are nothing but tools of war and killing.  Me among a number of people doesn't think like that.  I am a human being first and a ninja second.  I have my own ways of doing things, my own nindo.  Being a ninja who kills for thrill and money is not fun.  But if you are a ninja who protects then the job is worthwhile."

     "A ninja who protects is worthwhile?  I too have a precious person whom I must protect.  Do you know what true strength is?  It is when you protect the things you love."

     I have no idea where this conversation is going now.  His loyalty to Zabuza is too strong like its unbreakable.  Time for the direct approach again.

     "How is Zabuza doing?"

     Haku's eyes widen.

     "Don't worry; I'm not here to fight.  Let's just talk for today.  We have plenty of time to fight later on."

     "How did you know?"

     "I got brains not just looks.  It seems like you are loyal to Zabuza.  What is he to you?"

     "He is my savior.  He rescued me from the cold when I was in dire need.  And for that, I am in debt to him."

     "Even when he is evil?  How do you feel when he killed the innocents?"

     "Sacrifices must be made sometimes."  Haku shook his head, trying to rid himself from old memories.

     "Doesn't seem like you like it.  There are other places to go to besides Zabuza.  Like I said before, the Hidden Leaf Village is a great place and will welcome you.  You can be anything you want to be if not a ninja.  The option is always there in front of you."

     "I have no desire to leave Zabuza if that is what you are thinking."

     Naruto looked at the boy next to him.  He remembered Haku to be an innocent boy.  Someone like that didn't deserve to die.  "You know, this battle we have, maybe one man will walk away from this.  Your Zabuza or my sensei.  You are contracted to kill Tazuna-san while we are contracted to protect him at all cost.  I won't hold a grudge on you if Kakashi sensei is killed.  But if Zabuza is killed in the fight, know that we will welcome you.  No strings attached.  I feel that we are the same and can relate to each other."

     Haku stood up and began to walk away with a basket full of herbs.  "I won't hold a grudge either."

     Days have past with the same routine going on.  Naruto practiced with his teammates in the morning before he accompanies Tazuna to work.  When it's Kakashi's turn to look over the old man, Naruto spends the day training instead.  Naruto would help Hinata with her Hakkeshou Kaiten technique.  As like Tenten, Naruto would jump up really high and rain down all the ninja tools he had.  He also told her to be more fluid.  Be like water, he would tell her.  She should attack her opponent's arms or legs if they reach towards her.  Basically, he was tutoring Hinata with Neji's style from what he remembered in the anime.  From the looks of it, it really helped her improve.

     "Good work Hinata-chan!" Naruto praised.  "Your father would surely be surprised when he sees you again."

     Hinata blushed at her teammates compliments.  It felt like ages since the last time she was complimented.  But she was worried that Naruto was going to be behind on his training if he continues to help her.  "Naruto-kun, do you think that I am slowing you down?"

     The blond Genin gave her a confused look.  "What do you mean Hinata-chan?  If you get stronger, you'll be an excellent sparring partner which will mean I will get stronger from our fights right?  Don't worry about it too much.  I actually am training while I train with you."

     Kiba who was currently sitting on the lowest branch of the tall tree he was climbing saw the two talk and can't help but become jealous.  Here he was still climbing trees while they spar.  It looked fun too.  This training was really boring.  He was getting a bit better after Naruto offered to give him some tips.  He estimated that he would need a day more to finally be able to climb up the tall tree.

     The three Genins ate a lot during dinner time.  Kiba and Hinata said they needed energy to become strong while Naruto said he was just hungry.  Inari seemed to open a bit more to the group but still remain in a depressive state.  Kakashi was reading his novel whenever he didn't have things to do.  Naruto was off in one corners of the room and wrote on his notebook.  He does that every time when he has nothing to do.  When asked what he was doing, he replied that he was writing a journal.  Hinata and Kiba go to sleep early in different rooms so they could continue their training the next morning. 

     Kiba hasn't yet managed to reach the top of the tree the next day but managed to go around two thirds up.  Naruto seeing that his pal was working too hard and may need a break from it asked if he wanted to do some sparring instead.  Kiba declined Naruto's offer and continue to do the tree climbing exercise. 

     "Don't mess up my training Naruto," said Kiba.

     Naruto gave him a confused look.

     "I need to finish this first so I'll have better control of my chakra.  After that, then I'll come around and kick you ass."  Kiba gave his friend a grin to show that they were still buddies and rivals. 

     "Well, do try to finish the exercise quick.  If you keep this up, people might think you and the tree have something going on."

     "Damn you Naruto!"

Author's Notes:

Damn, this sure was a long chapter.  It's so long that I had to break it into two chapters after I rewrote some stuff and added a few stuff. 

Just to recap on what happened.  This is an SI type fanfiction where a dude got killed in a car accident and land in the Naruto world.  How did that happened?  King Emma forgot to erase my memories of that life, so I kept it in my new life in the Naruto world. 

The Uchiha Clan…its tragedy will be revealed in later chapters.


	5. The Great Naruto Bridge

Better Equipped

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

: Thoughts

Chapter 5 – The Great Naruto Bridge

Kiba and Hinata seemed to be doing very well in their training that Kakashi thought they were now able to protect Tazuna at the bridge. With three of his students their, he wouold have a chance to read his book. Unfortunately, Naruto decided to stay behind so that he could sleep in a bit more after having breakfast. As the next morning came, Tazuna, Kakashi, Kiba, and Hinata left to the bridge. The Genins were excited since they haven't seen the bridge since they came to the village. From what Tazuna said, the bridge was almost finished.

A few minutes later, two samurais barged in the house.

The f#k? They came right when I'm still eating breakfast?

"Hey, don't barge in here like you own the place," Naruto stated. "Say, if you are here, does that mean Zabuza is attacking at the bridge today?"

"We're not telling you!" said the samurai with the hat. "You must be one of those loser ninjas that Tazuna hired."

Inari ran on to the room when he heard the loud commotion. He then saw two big goons with swords. "What are you doing here?"

"We came here for the lady of the house," said the same samurai. He was a bit more educated than his partner. "She's your mother right? Tell her to come out so we don't have to use force."

Inari got scared. The kid looked at Naruto who didn't seem to pay attention to the situation. "Naruto, aren't you going to do something?"

"I thought you said that we're all going to lose anyhow so why try right? So let it be and leave me to eat in peace before we all die."

At this time, Inari's mother also came out. "What is the meaning of this? Who are you people?"

The samurais quickly came towards her and grabbed her hands.

Inari stared in shock. Replay of his father's death kept playing in his mind. He felt so hopeless about how he wasn't able to do anything for his father. Thinking about what Naruto had told him, he really needs to work up some confidence and stand up for himself. If not, his mother would be taken away from him too. Inari suddenly charged at the samurais but was knocked down. This time when he got up, he looked around the room to find a weapon that could help him. He saw a kitchen knife on the table and grabbed it. Before he had a chance to charge at the kidnappers again, they stopped him and told how they will kill his mom if he tried anything. This time, Inari really felt like there was no hope in the world.

"I'm very proud of you Inari," said his mother. "You finally showed some courage. Keep it up okay?" With that said, she took out two kunais and twirl around twice between her captors. The sword dance she displayed was graceful and deadly. Several deep cuts were made on the samurais and made the lose balance from the pain. She then shot to web lines from each hand at their heads and pulled. She moved away from the center and let the samurais get into a head collision.

"It was great being tall." With a poof of smoke Inari changed into Naruto and then dispersed after waving to Inari.

"What just happened," the young boy asked. He then saw his mother entered the room. "Mom? You're okay!"

Inari's mom nodded to her son. "Naruto came into my room and told me what was happening. He then turned into me and came out."

"While you were busy talking to the samurais, I created a Kage Bushin and pretended to be your mom so it would lower the enemies' guard," Naruto stated. "A hero usually acts during the last minute." He chuckled a bit. "It looks like you understand your father now and what he represents." He saw that the boy was about to cry. "It's alright to cry now because you are happy. You are now the heart of the village. Bring some courage to them ok? Hand me some rope so I could tie them up. Cool, free swords!"

Naruto was traveling as fast as he could. He channeled chakra into his legs so he could sprint faster.

Kiba and Akamaru were both stuck inside Haku's Makyou Hyoushou (Demonic Ice Mirrors Formation). Their opponent was just too fast for them. They never got a chance to use any jutsu inside since it always gets interrupted by Haku's ice needles.

Hinata was protecting Tazuna alone while Kakashi was squared off with Zabuza.

Zabuza attacked Tazuna by launching some kunais, which were deflected by Kakashi.

Tazuna noticed that the female ninja of the group was getting worried for her other teammate who is trapped inside the ice dome. He then told her it will be okay if she wanted to check on him. After seeing that she shook her head 'no', he reminded her of her duties. "You are supposed to protect me right? Which means that wherever I go, you must follow. If I wanted to check on your teammate, you would be obliged to come with me."

"Thank you Tazuna-san" said Hinata. She then followed him towards Kiba.

Where are you Naruto-kun?

As Hinata gotten there with Tazuna, she noticed that both Kiba and Akamaru were lying on the ground. Kiba had several needles plunging onto him. Some even went through the body. A lot of blood was on the ground which formed around Kiba.

"Go save them. The bridge is almost completed. The bridge wouldn't be completed as much if it weren't for Naruto's help so I owe him. You both are his teammates so I don't want either one of you to get hurt."

Hinata wasn't sure if she could take on the masked boy alone. Kiba whom she believed was stronger than her failed to win, so what could she do. She then remembered all the times Naruto cheered her on and told her to be more confident. "Byakugan!"

She withdrew two kunais and aimed it at two different ice mirrors but Haku went out and deflects the weapons at incredible speeds. It was like he was at two places at once. She then gotten two more kunais from her pouch and secretly wrapped explosive tags that Naruto gave her last night on them. She also got two shurikens out. She threw the shurikens and made it so that they would separate and hit the ice mirrors from different sides of the dome. She then immediately threw the two kunais towards the ground, inches away from the mirror. As Haku appeared to block the second shuriken, Hinata activated the tags. The result was a loud boom and half of the ice dome had been destroyed.

Not wanting her enemy to have the time to rebuild the dome, Hinata went into action. "Kiba-kun, please look after Tazuna-san!" Using her newfound speed she gotten through training with Naruto, she attacked Haku using Juuken, her clan's Gentle Fist style.

Haku regains his composure and sent a number of ice needles at the girl. Her eyes are not normal, he thought.

Seeing the incoming needles, Hinata began to release chakra from her body and spin. "Hakkeshou Kaiten!" The needles were knocked away from her attack. She then stopped spinning and grabbed the needles that were idly in the air before hitting the ground. She took the ice needles and threw it back to its owner and was disappointed that the boy evaded it.

Tazuna stared in shock as he watched Hinata spun around with a trail of blue energy. She managed to block the enemy's attack but also damaged the bridge by forming a crater.

Haku decided to bring the combat closer to the girl and hoped she wasn't skilled in taijutsu.

A smile came to Hinata's face upon seeing that her opponent was coming towards her. She quickly made the first attack as soon as her opponent got closer. See aimed for all the crucial chakra points within the body as Naruto instructed her. She sent her chakra from her hands into Haku's body damaging his internal chakra system. She would attack his arms when he made swings at her. She would attack his legs whenever he kicks. When he didn't make any motions, she attacked his body.

Kiba had just woken up from his short unconsciousness. His eyes widen as he saw how Hinata fought. Her shy nature was completely gone and it seems like she was winning. Is this the results of Naruto's training, he asked himself. He shucks his head to bring some oxygen in. He had also gotten stronger from Kakashi's training so it wasn't like he was left behind. He finally heard Akamaru barking at him telling him that Hinata asked him to look after Tazuna who was left unguarded. He understood.

Haku knew he was in a jam. He made a very bad decision wanting to fight this girl in close quarters. Every hit she made hurts even when she didn't touch him. Even when he dashed away from her, she managed to follow him. This isn't good if this keeps up, he thought. He then concentrated all the chakra he had left and ran away from Hinata.

The heir to the Hyuuga Clan couldn't believe how fast the boy was. She didn't even see him move. Her Byakugan told her that his chakra system was damaged and he wouldn't be able to use chakra effectively for awhile.

The fight between Kakashi and Zabuza were not as active. The two high rank ninjas waited for a chance to attack the other. Ninjas were supposed to surprise their opponents and use jutsus when the other isn't looking. That is the basic principal of being a shinobi. Kakashi got serious a revealed his Sharingan to Zabuza. The Missing-Nin of the Mist however explained that Haku had figured out a way to fight against that bloodline ability. Making a set of seals, Zabuza summoned a heavy fog around the area which quickly became a nuisance to the Sharingan user.

Being a master of the silent kill, Zabuza concentrated on hearing Kakashi's movement. After zooming in on his opponent's whereabouts, he dashed in with his huge sword.

Kakashi saw Zabuza a second too late and got slashed in the chest. Luckily he avoided the attack at the last minute but still received a flesh wound. He went back on alert after seeing that Zabuza hid himself again. No one could actually see it but he was smiling beneath his mask.

Chunnins and Jounins of all Hidden Villages wears special designed vest that enables them to carry many ninja tools. Kakashi opened up a pocket and took out a scroll. He waved it around gracefully and slides his thumb across the scroll with the blood dripping from his chest. The blood on the scroll along with the hand seals he made activates the jutsu he prepared for these types of situations.

"Looks like our Hinata is an equal match for your boy Zabuza. You underestimated us too greatly."

"It does look like I have, didn't I?"

"Hinata is a from the Main House of Konoha's noble family, the Hyuuga Clan."

"Hyuuga?" Zabuza asked in surprise.

"Kiba and Akamaru are from the Inuzuka Clan. Although he ranked the lowest in the academy, he's the most arrogant Genin in the Leaf Village."

"And what's so special about being arrogant."

"Absolutely nothing."

Kiba sneezed. Is someone talking behind my back, he asked himself.

"The final member of our team is Uzumaki Naruto. He's the number one rookie of this year's class. You faced him before."

"That blond brat that hit me into the lake?"

"Enough chit-chat…let's finished this soon Zabuza."

"And how are you going to do that when you don't know where I am? I on the other hand know exactly where you are Copy Ninja Kakashi. Don't forget that I am a master of the silent kills."

The ground around Zabuza started to shake and dogs began appearing everywhere. The dogs were summoned by Kakashi. They were able to track the enemy from its owner's blood scent that is on Zabuza's sword. Each dog bites a part of Zabuza, immobilizing him.

"Your ambitions were too great," Kakashi told Zabuza. You threw away this town's hope when you align yourself with Gatou." He then made another hand seal. "Chidori! You are too dangerous to leave unchecked. You were going to destroy this town's courage with your greed. A ninja is not supposed to put their needs above others. Surrender now!"

"I fight for my own ideals and that will never change."

"Your future is death."

Naruto had watched everything that happened unnoticed. Hinata was doing so well that he was afraid he would stop her growth if he interfered. But it looked like it was now time for him to intervene before it was too late. Gather chakra to his legs again, he ran towards Haku. As he got there, he saw that the innocent boy was in the middle of performing hand seal to teleport himself to save his master. But before Haku had a chance to finish, Naruto had already made it there to knock him aside.

Zabuza heard Haku's loud scream and became worried. Somehow, he found the energy to evade a death blow from the incoming attack. There was a deep hole in his shoulders as Kakashi had driven his attack into it, severing his left arm in the process.

Kakashi was surprised that he had miss his intended kill. But the blow was still fatal if not treated right away. He quickly took out a kunai and damaged the other arm which left the Devil of the Mist defenseless. Seeing that the man can't fight back now, Kakashi stopped attacking further since it was apparent that he had won the battle. "The fight is over."

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata greeted him.

"Good job Hinata! I saw your fight. It was totally awesome!"

"Zabuza-san…" Haku said from the ground.

It was then that Gatou and his goons appeared. "You call yourself the Devil of the Mist? I am going to enjoy paying you and that boy back for humiliating me."

"I'm not going to let you talk like that to Zabuza-san!" Haku yelled.

"Stop Haku!" Zabuza ordered.

Gatou looked at the ninjas without any fear in his eyes. He shouldn't have to since he had many hired goons on his side. "You are pathetic Zabuza. You came to me and promised that you will take care of the job but look at you now. Burning my money away would be wiser than trusting you. Men, see to it that you get his and the boy's head."

Zabuza looked at the Copy Ninja. "Kakashi, it looks like we no longer need to fight. My contract with Gatou has just been terminated. Do me a favor and lend me a kunai." As the kunai fell from Kakashi's hand, Zabuza quickly caught it in his mouth and dashed towards his ex-employer.

"All of you stop him! I'll pay double of the amount if you kill him!"

It seemed the number of people still didn't matter any as Zabuza went through the hired goons leaving a trail of dead bodies. He was stabbed multiple times since one arm is gone while the other was useless. His own blood was running out like a river. He soon made his way to Gatou. "You and I are going to hell together. In hell, I can become a real devil!" With that said, Zabuza used the kunai in his mouth and sliced Gatou's throat. The body fell down from the bridge into the water. His last mission was done and now all was left was to return to Haku, however his legs failed him.

The hired goons began to get rowdy and demanded blood from the group because they haven't been paid yet. Naruto looked at them and smiled. Inari showed up and sent and arrow to stop the goons from approaching any further. Behind him was the entire village readied and armed.

Haku was getting impatient and summoned his ice mirrors around the thugs. If they weren't going to leave right now, he will kill them instantly.

"I know you want to see Zabuza but this isn't the way. Enough blood has been shed today, don't you think?" Naruto then looked at the thugs with a serious face. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" A huge number of Narutos appeared that triple the number of the thugs.

The thugs quickly made their getaway on the boat near them. They were pushing and shoving each other and some fell in the water.

Haku made his seals and performed Kiri Shunshin no Jutsu (Mist Instantaneous Body Skill) and teleported beside his master. "Zabuza-san."

"You've always been a nice kid. You were never meant to be a ninja that kills. Forgive me."

"All I have done had always been by my own choosing."

"You're free now…."

Kakashi walked up to his subordinates and gave them compliments. "You have all grown so much in a short time." Seeing how Hinata and Kiba were both looking away from Zabuza, he told them to look straight at them. "Don't look away. Zabuza is a man who led a difficult life."

Thinking about it again, I haven't really done anything in this fight. Is that considered uncool? Kiba and Hinata fought Haku while Kakashi was pit up with Zabuza. Hinata actually fought equally to Haku. What's up with that? I got nothing.

The four ninjas raised their hands and said goodbye to Tazuna and his fellow villagers. Inari was crying since he was sad that Naruto is going. He was also going to miss Akamaru who was very playful. His last dog ran away from him after he failed to save him from the bullies who kidnapped him.

"We need a new name for this bridge," said one of the villagers.

"Since Naruto gave Inari courage to stand up against Gatou who in return gave courage to the village, let's name the bridge after a young man who will be well known throughout in the short coming years," said Tazuna. "We'll call it The Great Naruto Bridge! What do you think? He and his clones sure helped a lot. We wouldn't have got this bridge finish this fast without him."

"To think a big sword like Zabuza went missing," said Haku. "I wonder where it went?"

"I have no idea, Haku. I don't have a clue at all." Inside one of Naruto's pocket is a scroll where he seals all the weapons he found or stolen. It is one of his hobbies to collect weapons.

Author's notes:

Next, I'm thinking of writing the saga of the Hero Water. It's a special anime episode that won't be seen in the manga. The special wasn't as good as I hoped and based on the special skills they used, the event occurred before the Chuunin Exam.

The story has changed much from the original timeline so I ended things faster.


	6. Time Off From Missions

Better Equipped

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

: Thoughts

Chapter 6 – Time Off From Missions

After Team Seven's ordeals, the counsel decided they needed to have some time off so they don't over work themselves. No one really mind since they were tired and have other things to do like register Haku as a Konoha citizen and show him around the village.

I can't have Haku live with me and the Hokage so that will be a problem. I can always stick him at my old house. I still own the place since I still use it every now and then when I felt I needed to get away. He could stay there until he finds another place.

Haku went through many series or trials to prove his loyalty to the Leaf. He just had to fill out applications and take an oath. The Hokage personally welcomed him to the village after Naruto relate Haku's story to him. The Leaf Village was definitely different than the Hidden Mist Village. The climate is one that was totally different and is something that he needed to get use to.

It was almost midnight and Naruto was still up practicing and learning jutsus. The Hokage walked in the kitchen and saw Naruto studying by the counter.

"Still studying at this hour Naruto?"

"You know my same old routine. Practice taijutsu during the day and learn ninjutsu and genjutsu at night. All I need to do is remember the hand seals and which way I channel chakra. Why are you still up? Getting something to drink?"

"My throat was dry." The Hokage then stared at the young Genin. "Hopefully you haven't been too focused on training that you stopped…writing creatively."

"Don't worry old man. I haven't stopped writing. Right now I don't have any inspiration, that's all. Anyways, my other co-author should be able to handle things without me for awhile."

The Third nodded his head. He went to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of cold water and poured it into a glass. "So how did your last mission go? I read Kakashi's report but I what to hear it from your point of view."

"Well, the mission went better than initially expected. We finished the mission with no casualties, at least on our side. Kiba has gotten stronger, especially Hinata. Hiashi-san will be surprised if he sees her in combat. She went further than my expectations. In time, both of them will become even stronger which is expected from those who are from respective clans. We also got a new citizen for the Leaf Village and he's got a bloodline ability. We did run into some dangerous mission but all members of the team were able to carry through without problem. I probably did the least amount of growing during our trip. I just feel lucky that those two are in my team."

"Haku does seem to be a bright boy. His strength will be of great help to our village."

"Yeah, I'm meeting with him tomorrow so we can spar for a bit. I didn't really have a chance to fight him during the mission. He did well against Kiba but fought evenly with Hinata. I've been working on improving her confidence and it seems to be working. She is a good fighter once she believes in herself. Haku was caught surprised by her bloodline ability and her Gentle Fist style which were both alien to him. I assume that was why he had a hard time. But his skills should be on par with them now since I mentioned how strong my teammates have gotten."

"Sounds like you have a strong interest with Hinata."

"Don't think of perverted thoughts old man. She and I are not like that. I need to look out for my teammates since I need to depend on them. That's exactly what you taught me right? Anyways, did you find a good candidate for the Fifth yet? You're still strong but you're also very old."

"I've lost touch with Tsunade a long time ago. You were the last one who saw her right? Jiraiya is another candidate but somehow I don't see him fitting the role."

"Isn't there anyone else who is eligible?"

"The strongest Jounins we have are Kakashi, Asuma, and Gai. If you were taller and have a higher ninja rank, I might even consider you." He gave a few chuckles to show his student that he was merely joking.

"Very funny old man but unfortunately I'm not that strong as the rumor says. I fractured my arm in the mission after doing one of my jutsus. I still got a long way to go before becoming a real threat. My jutsus would kill me before my opponents. I guess things wouldn't be so bad if I didn't wear weighted clothing. The stress of those two together is much more than what my body can handle. Being young sucks sometimes. Plus we both know the real reason how I won against a few Jounins. I got Kyuubi's chakra to help me out. I could call on his power even for a split second so no one could sense his presence and help me in battle."

"Kyuubi's powers still amazes me. He's supposed to be the strongest of the youmas and has the most chakra. With a sway of a single tail, he could create natural disasters."

Naruto was silent as he was thinking of what his sensei had just told him. Kyuubi was the strongest of the demons which meant all that power the fox has is now relatively his. He couldn't even start to imagine the possibilities of what he could do or accomplish. If used wrong, he may destroy the people around him as well as himself if not careful. But he knows that his body can't handle that magnitude of power yet, and doesn't know if it was possible. "Anyways, it would be too weird if Gai is the Hokage, don't you think so? Haku and many others may move out of the village if that happens. But then again, a lot of good properties may go up on sale. Asuma is tough but lazy at times too, or should I say unmotivated. Probably Kakashi is the most suitable for the job with his skills. His personality is another matter. I say we find Tsunade."

"It would be good to see my pupil again."

"Yeah, and she's cute too. Although she's fifty years old, she created a jutsu that keeps her young in mid-twenties."

"Really?" Sandaime started to remember the past and what his pupil looked like. "I see…."

I wonder if he's thinking of something perverted. Well, I can't blame him.

The Third started to walk back into his room. "Don't forget to write whenever you have inspiration!"

I've been bugging him about finding a new Hokage lately but he's still not serious about this. At this rate, he really will die at the hands of Orochimaru. Maybe I'll find Tsunade for him, but I don't have the time. Guess I'll continue thinking about this later. It's late and I need to get up early.

Hinata was walking around the training site when she heard some commotions. She had gotten out of the house so she could train in secret. Since she was younger, her father had been disappointed in her progress. Soon after her little sister was born, it seemed like he had given up on her. Now he is more focused on training her sister to become the leader of the clan. Naruto, Kiba, and Kakashi sensei had told her that she had improved a lot which gave her a sense of hope. However she still has doubts of her strengths and planned to become stronger before confronting her father.

Following the noises she heard, she saw Naruto and Haku sparring near the pond.

At the moment, it was a test of speed between the two combatants and Naruto seemed to have an upper hand. They went fast enough that they were invisible to the untrained eye. Haku threw sets of needles at Naruto who crouched down really low on the ground to avoid the attack and rolled forward at the new Leaf Village citizen. Naruto sent two jabs and a straight punch that connected successfully at his opponent. Haku's head reeled back from the blow but he struggled to move forward and delivered a head butt at the blond Genin. Luckily Naruto saw the attack and countered with a left uppercut then a right hook.

Naruto-kun sure has some interesting taijutsu styles. It doesn't seem that Haku-san is good with taijutsu as he is with ninjutsu. I remember he had a hard time against me when we meet as enemies. His speed and strategy in the fight however is above average and better than me.

Naruto jumped back to get out of close range however he was struck from the back. As he turned his head around, he saw Haku who had been in front of him. He avoided another attack but caught by surprised with blow from where he just landed. Looking around the field, he saw five Hakus that were getting ready to attack. He then remembered that Haku was Zabuza's student.

So Haku is using his Water Clone Skill. I forgot that Zabuza had taught him everything he knows. I lost track of the real Haku and received a few hits from being caught surprised. Maybe I should attack using Shadow Clones or should I use Water Clones?

Naruto quickly stopped analyzing the situation when he sensed Haku was about to attack. He gracefully avoids every attack from dodging and doing flips. When the chance opens itself, he would sweep the clones or delivering attacks during mid-leaps which looked slightly awkward but effective.

There were three Hakus left who surrounded Naruto in a triangular formation. Two Hakus rushed towards Naruto but only managed to collide with each other and dispersed into water. Naruto did a forward flip to the one that was standing still then slide immediately after his feet touched the ground. With fast movements, Naruto preformed a sliding side kick at the center of Haku's chest and send him backward.

Haku flew back from the force of the kick and landed on his back. He was still lying on the ground trying to catch his breath after it was knocked out of him.

Hinata stepped out of into view and the boys immediately stopped and greeted her. "I'm sorry if I interrupted your training."

"It's not a problem Hinata-chan," said Naruto.

"We just got started. Naruto had wanted to spar against me even since we got to the Leaf Village. It seems like he is jealous over the fact that you fought against me instead of him."

Naruto was rubbing the back of his head while Hinata was laughing. She looked at her teammate again and saw cuts on his arms and legs. Haku's needle attacks did hit him after all. But the wounds had already started to seal itself up.

"So what are you doing here Hinata-chan? Were you looking for me?"

"I was on my way to the training site to train, Naruto-kun. It was then that I heard some noises and found myself here."

"I guess we were a bit noisy," said Haku. "Care to join us?"

The blond Genin nodded. "Yeah, why don't you join us? You can team up with Haku and fight me."

"Aren't you a bit arrogant?"

Naruto was rubbing his chin being trapped in a deep thought. "Actually, I have an experiment that I wanted to try. Haku, can you perform your Demonic Ice Mirrors formation?"

Haku gave him a confused look. "What kind of experiment are you talking about?"

"I got a cool new jutsu that I wanted to try out. I used it once and I wanted to see if it could counter your Demonic Ice Mirrors. Plus, I'm going to break the formation from the inside."

A jutsu that could be used against Haku's kinjutsu was something Hinata wanted to see. The reason she broke through the formation was because she attacked from the outside with strong explosive tags that Naruto had given her. Kiba who was inside couldn't do anything even with Akamaru's help. He couldn't move much less than break the formation.

"I don't know." Creating the formation was a simple task but he has a feeling it would be bad news.

"Come on…even Hinata helped me out with a few jutsu experiments and all of them went well. Isn't that right Hinata?"

The first child of the Hyuuga Main House went through her memories. "There was that time when you made me color blind."

Haku's eyes widen. "What?"

"I didn't make you color blind! Okay, maybe I did but it was only temporary. I tired to paralyze the nerves surrounding your eyes so that you couldn't activate or use your Byakugan for awhile. Instead, I accidentally attacked the nerves where you register color."

"Oh?"

"I've been trying to develop a new jutsu. Kakashi sensei was my first…test subject. The jutsu failed completely since it didn't do anything. I had to rethink about the jutsu and reformulate it. Hinata-chan helped me test my jutsu next and you know how that went. I created the jutsu to fight against the Sharingan. There are a few bugs that I still need to work out. The Byakugan is almost similar to the Sharingan so I wanted to see how my jutsu would affect on the Hyuugas. Basically, I create a poison mist through my mouth that attacks the nerves around the eyes. The poison mist can be absorbed through the skin, eyes, and by breathing it. My ultimate goal with this jutsu is to be able to neutralize most Doujutsu for a set amount of time. Pretty cool huh?"

"So what kind of jutsu are you planning on doing to counter Hanku-san's Demonic Ice Mirrors formation?"

"This jutsu I developed is almost similar to your Eight Divinations Palm Heavenly Spin. I've been working on it for two years and finally it's perfected. It's also a defensive and offensive technique but has a shorting name. Come on…if you don't, I'll tell Hinata-chan about those guys who tried to ask you out today."

Haku was getting red. Not the shade of red when a person is blushing. It's the dark red color when a person is royally pissed off. "You don't need to threaten me with that anymore since you already blew it."

Thinking about what he said again, Naruto slapped his forehead. "Damn! Help me out anyways."

"It does sound intriguing. I do want to see what you have that could break through my Demonic Ice Mirrors."

Doing a set of hand seals, Haku called forth his kinjutsu using the water particles from the pond. "Kinjutsu - Makyou Hyoushou!" Quickly, mirrors of ice formed and surrounded Naruto from all sides.

So this is what it feels to be inside of this thing. It feels like a fun house that has those funny mirrors.

Haku from the outside went into one of the ice mirrors. Soon, all the mirrors inside had his reflection.

Naruto was at the center of the formation. He quickly gathered chakra too his arms. The chakra he gathered was so intense that his eyes were shaded with energy and his arms were giving off electricity. "Hinata, get further away from here. Haku, get ready and make a run for it if things gets too dangerous." Seeing that everything was in set, Naruto readied his attack. He raised both his arms on top of his head and readied himself to release all the energy from his body in a burst. As he felt the gathered chakra was enough to destroy the ice mirrors, Naruto continued with the attack by arcing his arms downward and slamming them into the ground. "Kinjutsu – Raising Storm!"

The destructive move quickly laid waste to the area. Bundles of energy went out of Naruto's body and shattered the mirrors with waves of chakra.

Haku saw the destructive force coming to him. He quickly used all the chakra he could mustered and focus them into his legs so he could get away.

The kinjutsu laid waste a good portion of the ground not just Haku's Demonic Ice Mirrors.

Hinata looked at the jutsu in horror. She hasn't seen anything like this before. The jutsu leveled the ground in similar fashion like her Main House's Hakkeshou Kaiten technique. The only spot left untouched was a circular ground where Naruto was crouching. "Incredible Naruto-kun!"

Haku was also amazed at his friend's powers. He would have taken in from the blast if not Naruto warning him to move out of the area if it looked dangerous. Seeing the amount of chakra Naruto gathered, he instinctively moved away once his friend started the jutsu.

Yeah, what's incredible is that I made the move seem more powerful just by saying kinjutsu before its name.

"This move is really taxing my body." Naruto stood up taking in several breaths. Sweat could be seen coming off him. Seeing that his friends were speechless, he gave them a smile. "Personally, I think this jutsu is more destructive than Kaiten, but because it requires a lot of chakra, it can't be done as much in a period of time."

As Naruto tried to walk over to his friends, he found that his legs weren't cooperating.

Damn, I'm a little bit light headed again.

"Are you alright Naruto-kun?"

Narutp looked at his friends and gave them a smile. He breathed in deeply and exhales. "I'm fine, just a bit tired from releasing the chakra. I am getting hungry now. How about we continue sparring for a bit then return to the village and get some food. Then Hinata will get a chance to see how the guys ogle at Haku here."

Haku is just like those two guys that look like girls in Fushigi Yuugi. It's so funny that I'm going to burst my gut.

The group was looking for a nice place to eat when Naruto spot a clothing store that sale cloth. He went in and looked around the place. Then his eyes could on some orange fabric. Seeing the color orange made him think about the Naruto from the original timeline.

How come Naruto likes to wear orange anyways? Isn't it a bit tacky? I remembered that he didn't wear that in his younger days so why did he start to wear them? Maybe the artist was trying to save money on color and used orange. Almost everyone wore orange in Dragonball Z. The color must be cheap or something. Even the people who made Power Rangers didn't even use orange. I don't think there ever was an Orange Ranger. The Orange Ranger might as well draw a target symbol on his chest since all the monsters will probably target him first for having a bad color taste. But orange is cool for the spring or summer season when hitting the beach, but not for fighting or superhero stuff.

"What are you thinking about Naruto-kun?"

"I'm just thinking about buying a piece of orange cloth."

"Orange?" Haku asked. "Isn't that color a bit bright and tacky for a ninja?"

"So I want to be the first person to get attacked. I'll live since I have a healing factor."

"Isn't orange a bit bright and tacky for a ninja?" the Third Hokage asked.

Naruto got home after having lunch with the group. Hinata needed to come home while Haku wanted to try out on becoming a Medic-Nin. So all that is left for the Ninja was to go home and see whatever comes up. "Everybody's a critic." Naruto took off his forehead protector and switch the bandana. He places the plate with Leaf Village symbol and placed it on the orange bandana and wore it.

Hey, it's not so bad. It actually looks good and matches my black clothes.

"So why are you home sensei? Don't you have Hokage stuff to do?"

"Like you said…I'm old and I need a break. Besides, the Leaf is doing fine. We've been very prosperous."

"Maybe we are a bit too prosperous that it's a bad thing." Naruto was shocked that he said that out loud.

"What do you mean Naruto?"

Seeing that he can't find a way out from this, he might as well take advantage of the situation and somehow wan him about the Sand's future attack on the Leaf. "Well, if our village becomes too prosperous, other Hidden Villages might get jealous of us and attack us. The idea behind it is pretty simple. Let's say another kid has an ice cream cone and I didn't have one and don't have the assets to get one. Out of spite, I attack that person and maybe even rob them of it. Another situation is that because we are prosperous, we are taking away jobs and mission from other villages and they will resent us." Naruto let in a couple of seconds of silence so the Hokage can keep up. "I here the Sand Village isn't prospering because us Leaf's are taking their jobs away, plus the emperor had cut their military budget. We need to more careful now because of this."

The Hokage nodded his head.

Naruto is simply amazing to think this far ahead. I knew he was a genius when we talked all those years ago but this is something else. With proper tutelage, he will become a great Hokage like his father. Raising him, I feel like I have fixed my past mistakes with Orochimaru. Naruto, you will be the strength of the Leaf.

"Hey old man, don't space out on me. What are you thinking?"

"I'm just amazed that you thought this far ahead for the village's sake. Right now, we are in peaceful times and I surely don't want another war to rage and harm my people. I'll talk to the counsel with your thoughts and see what we can come up with."

Sarutobi walked to a window in the room and open it to let the fresh air breeze in. He was thinking about the future of the village. Although things were peaceful at the moment, a war may break out during the least expected time. He had experienced many wars during his lifetime. In the last Ninja War, many of his precious people had lost their lives. Tsunade, his student suffered a lot and her wounds may not have healed even now. She lost her dear little brother and her first love. The trials were definitely hard on her but that's how the ninja life was. He thought he could finally rest after presenting the new Hokage to the village. A younger and maybe even stronger leader, however his days were short lived when the Nine Tails Demon Fox came.

Many other memories that he considered precious came to mind as he looked at the sky above Konoha. He then turned back and looked at Naruto. "When was the last time you did chakra training Naruto? Even as we speak, your body is undergoing changes which make chakra hard to control. If you want to perform jutsus perfectly, you will need to do chakra training often to get use to the constant change of your chakra flow."

"I did a bit back at the Water Country but I get what you're saying. I just got back from training with Haku and Hinata too. Are there exercises other than climbing trees and walking on water that helps manipulate chakra?"

"There are other exercises but these are more practical." Sarutobi knew the boy was already working hard but also know that chakra control was his big weakness. Naruto was Konoha's future and he had to make sure that the boy was well protected. He kept watching Naruto as the boy got a drink and then prepared to leave. Another thing came to mind that he was curious about. "Say, wrote anything new lately?"

Author's Notes:

I would like to thank everyone for their reviews. Reading them gives me inspiration to write more.

Some of the reviews said that the Hero Water Special is after the Chunnin Exam. That could be it since Naruto was using Kyuubi's chakra without getting out of controlled. It's a special episode so it's hard to pinpoint where exactly it is in the timeline. Sasuke didn't use his Chidori nor has the speed he received from that one month of training before the last tournament and everyone's skills seemed to be lower than it should be. So I thought I should classify the Hero Water special as before the Chunnin Exam. Plus, I thought maybe Naruto used Kyuubi's chakra unknowingly and called it forth by accident. I'm almost finisged writing that chapter on the Hero Water, so should I just go ahead and post it up next or should I wait until after the Chuunin Exam? If I wait until after the Chunnin Exam, I would need to rewrite some stuff but I won't complain. So what does everyone think?

I was thinking that Sarutobi needed some more air time so I wrote a couple of pieces for him.

Raising Storm - Geese Howard (Fatal Fury)


	7. Hero Water

Better Equipped

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. 

: Thoughts

Chapter 7 – Hero Water

     A few days after they got back, Team Seven got another rank C assignment.  They were to guard the Leader of the Hidden Falls Village back safely. 

     Naruto didn't really mind going on this mission, but he felt bad that he had to leave Haku alone for a few days.  But he knew everything was going to be alright since Haku didn't really have time to spare.  As soon as they had gotten back from their first C Rank mission, Haku had to go through several test and application data entry to become a citizen of the Leaf.  Unfortunately, he was already a registered ninja of the Mist which makes him a Missing-Nin.  As long as he stays within the village, he would be secure.  If he steps outside the Leaf, he was a prey to the Hunter-Nins of the Mist whom wants him dead.  Since Haku was already familiar with the human body thanks to his Hunter-Nin training, he would make a good Medic-Nin.  Naruto suggested that idea since he knows his friend didn't particularly like killing. 

     The mission so far has been simple.  There were no bandits or the like when the journey started.  Naruto knew better of course.  He remembered this short special episode about them escorting the Hidden Falls Leader home and the village got attacked.  They wanted something called Hero Water.  It is special water that came out from the sap of the tree or something.  It was suppose to increase your chakra for a short moment before it kills you.  There were some percentages that you survive but he couldn't remember nor care about that detail.  Kakashi had to return to the village for some Jounin meeting so he wasn't there.  But it didn't really matter since all the enemies were weak.

     As they got to a gigantic waterfall, they were greeted by two young kids. 

     "Shibuki-sama," said the young girl.  "You're finally back!"

     "You kids shouldn't be out here you know," said Shibuki, the Leader of the Hidden Falls. 

     "We're on a mission too," said the young boy.  "There are a lot of trash in the water and we need to clean in up."  Then he noticed the strangers with their leader.  There was an old guy with gray hair and three younger ninjas.  He walked up to the blond ninja and asked if he could help them. 

     Naruto couldn't really make the decision himself so he looked at his sensei.  After seeing Kakashi giving him an okay, he and his team started working.  Kakashi on the other hand sat on the rock and read his new book, Come Come Violence. 

     Making two Kage Bushins to help speed up the work, Naruto found himself with little else to do.  He sat on a rock a few feet away from Kakashi and started to take something out from his camping bag.  He took what looks like a notebook and a pencil.  After opening the book and reading a few sentences from his last entry, he began to write again.

     After awhile, everyone was staring at Naruto.  Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru were still standing in the ponds with the Hidden Falls kids.  Shibuki stood near Kakashi whom was wondering what his blond student was doing.  Everyone in Team Seven remembered that Naruto would occasionally take out his notebook and jog down things which can take up to hours sometimes when they didn't have much to do.  When asked what he was doing, Naruto would reply that he was writing a journal.  Kakashi walked up toward Naruto using stealth methods to peek what the boy was doing.  Kakashi was still considered stronger than Naruto thanks to his years of experience.

     Naruto was too into what he was doing and failed to sense his sensei was behind him.  He was working near the waterfall when suddenly he had inspiration.  Kakashi read the first three sentences from Naruto's notebook and his normal eye almost popped from his eye socket. 

     "YOU'RE A GENUIS NARUTO!" Kakashi said out loud.

     The boy was freaked out by the sudden scream.  He immediately closed his notebook and gave his sensei a disappointed look.  "Hey, what do you think you're doing, sneaking up on me like that?"

     "I never knew you had such skills Naruto."

     "Yeah well, you can call it a gift I guess but it's no damn bloodline ability.  You don't have to be hasty.  You'll get a chance to read in when the book is completed.  You'll just have to wait like the others.  This won't come out till sometime by the end of the year.  It all depends on my co-author." 

     Minutes after, a hawk flew by which scared the daylights of Shibuki. 

     "Don't worry about the hawk.  He's our Hidden Leaf Village's messenger."  After Kakashi read that note on it, he stood up and told his students that he had to attend a special Jounin meeting.  "After you are all done, head back to the village."

     A half hour passed by and the gang was finished cleaning.

     Hinata looked up and took in the scenery more.  "The waterfall is so beautiful Naruto-kun."

     "Yeah, and it'll be even better with some food around."

     "Always thinking about food huh Naruto?" Kiba teased.

     "That's because I've been working hard unlike someone here who makes a mess of the place.  Don't think that I don't know what Akamaru did to that tree and the ground over there."

     "Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun was just teasing you.  He doesn't mean anything bad."

     "I know Hinata.  I was just playing around too.  But I was kidding when I said I was hungry."

     "You didn't do anything.  You're clones did the work for you!"

     Shibuki who overheard the conversation decided to step in.  "If you are hungry, you should go and find food elsewhere."

     "Wow Shibuki-san," said Naruto.  "I didn't know that you can be so rude.  Aren't leaders supposed to handle situations with calm and caring manner?"

     "You guys are done already so our contract is terminated.  Please leave."

     Being the somewhat the co-leader of the team, Naruto looked at his teammates to see their reaction.  Kiba and Akamaru were getting really annoyed about how they were just tossed aside after their contract ended.  Hinata looked very surprised and sad. 

     "I guess we should leave team.  I don't think they want us to know the secret of their hidden entrance to their village.  Seeing how they are so paranoid about us staying any longer, I assume the entrance is near by."

     "But isn't Hidden Falls an ally of the Hidden Leaf?"  Hinata understood the situation better now.  She was somewhat surprised how Shibuki-san had suddenly grown a backbone.

     "They are our allies, but there are some boundaries that must be kept right?"  Kiba was very knowledgeable about territories.  "Some like to keep their territories safe from outsiders which means they have to keep this a secret."

     A bird flew by again near Shibuki and frightens him.

     Is he really the leader of the Hidden Falls?  It's a wonder how they manage to survive for so long if their leader is this weak.  Must be the Hero Water that makes them strong. 

     Naruto suddenly sensed many presences.  A number of people were coming this way.  Each of them didn't have strong chakra though, so they won't be much of a threat.  However, if they use underhanded tricks, things might get complicated.  "I sense a number of people coming towards us.  They have normal level of chakra and coming at high speed.  I assume that they are ninjas.  Hinata, turn on your Byakugan and watch out for whoever is coming.  They could be friends or foes.  Kiba and Akamaru, use your senses to pick up and scent." 

     Naruto then looks at Shibuki.  "You weren't expecting any company were you?"

     I know you didn't.  If I remember correctly, the bad guys are going to attack soon.  Wonder if I should finish them off soon or let Shibuki handle it.  But Shibuki will fail even if he drinks the Hero Water.  The opponent is his old sensei whom should be more skilled then he is.  So Team Seven has to stay and fight or else people from the Hidden Falls will suffer.  Think the villain gets a hold of the water anyways after defeating the enhanced Shibuki and it got destroyed by Sasuke later on.  Hidden Falls may become a sitting duck without the Hero Water. 

     "We weren't."

     "Naruto!  I can hear foot steps coming closer.  They should be here soon."

     "I can see them.  They are ninjas but they aren't wearing any plates so I can't confirm what villages they came from."

     "Must be Missing-Nins from different villages.  It doesn't really matter.  Our contract with the Hidden Falls already ended.  Continuing farther means we go outside of our contract."

     "But Naruto-kun, Hidden Falls is still our allies.  We must help them."

     It seems like Hinata is more confident now.  She changed. 

     "I was only kidding Hinata.  Shibuki-san, you must know the situation we are in.  Do you accept our help?"  Without waiting for a reply, Naruto turns towards Hinata.  "Hinata, where are they coming from?"

     "An injured woman is coming this way.  She came from around the waterfalls."

     A woman was struggling to approach the group.  She was the mother of the kids of helped cleaned the river.  She told them that the village had already been invaded and she was lucky to get out of there.

     "Hinata, can you see through the waterfalls into the inside of the hill?  Can you see the village?"

     Shibuki was stunned from what Naruto just asked.  "How do you know our village is inside the waterfall?"

     "You're village is called the Hidden Falls correct?  By that name alone, it should have something to do with this waterfall."

     Hinata nodded her head.  "The villagers seemed to have been captured.  I see the ninjas that we detected.  They are heading this way towards the village."

     "Kiba, you can relax now but be ready for a fight.  Hinata, protect the woman and the children.  You can rest now.  Turn off your Byakugan and conserve your chakra."

     Naruto concentrated chakra to his ears to increase his hearing.  He could hear the heart beats of the enemy ninjas.  They were right behind the waterfall now.

     Ninjas jumped out of the waterfall and immediately rained down kunais.

     "Suiton · Suiryuudan no Jutsu!"  Naruto already readied the hand seals to create the Water Dragon Blast Skill that he learned from Kakashi after the fight with Zabuza.  The water dragon launched into the air and knocked all the kunais away before hitting the ninjas themselves.  The dragon ripped threw them as if they were made of paper.

     This wasn't the first time Naruto killed.  Couple of years ago, Jiraiya and him set off on a training journey.  Naruto made a request to the Hokage to see the Toad Sennin.  It was a wild shot but Anbus were able to spot the grey hair Sennin at the Hot Springs District in Konoha. 

     Jiraiya agreed to come with them after he heard that his old sensei needed a request.  Turns out, the son of the Fourth wanted to see him and learn more about his father.  He took the brat around for awhile on his journey.  While looking for materials to write in his book, Jiraiya was also following his teammate the Snake Sennin and watch him carefully.  Jiraiya has a feeling that Orochimaru was up to no good.

     A lot of things happened on the journey.  A few bandits were robbing a family of travelers which Jiraiya and Naruto spotted.  In the heat of battle, Naruto eventually killed one of the bandits. 

     Naruto was full of guilt for the next couple of days.  He had never killed anyone before in his life.  Being in a world where killing is common, Naruto knew that he had to commit that act some time in his life.  There was no way of knowing that his first experience in killing would come so soon.  In his past life, it was illegal and considered a sin to kill which made it very hard for him.  He told himself many times that he now lives a new life in a different world where the laws and customs are different.  Although killing is still considered a bad deed in this world, it only applies with the person killed was bad. 

     Jiraiya knew it was hard on the boy so he tried his best to consult him.  In the end, he had to tell the boy to grow up because a ninja's life is filled with these situations.  If the boy can't cope with it then he has no gift on being a shinobi.

     The leader of that group however was able to dodge the attack since his men acted like a shield for him that gave him time to avoid the water dragon.  "Pretty good for one so young."

     "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!" 

     Naruto clones began to rise from the water surrounding the enemy ninja.  The man had no time to react and had his throat slit from behind.  He fell dead in the water.

     Everyone was surprised at Naruto's level of skill and how he was able to perform water element jutsus.

     "Damn and we just finished cleaning the area too.  Naruto!  Where did you learn those jutsus from?"  Kiba grind his teeth together.  His rival seemed to have gotten stronger again.

     "Got them back when we were at the Mist territory."  Not wanting to waste time explaining more, Naruto turns towards the Hidden Falls' leader.  "The other ninjas have captured and surrounded your people.  Our next fight will be in there.  What are they after?"

     Not wanting to wait either, Shibuki ran away towards the group to where the Hero Water is secretly kept.

     "So he's the leader huh?" Naruto contemplated.  "He's kinda unorganized.  I'll send a Kage Bushin to keep an eye on him.  We'll go over a strategy to defeat the enemy." 

     We should wait here.  The other team should be out here soon so we'll just confront them right away.  Better split the enemy team up so we don't have to handle so many in the last confrontation.  The woman is too injured to walk anywhere so our best option is just stay here. 

     Suien was waiting impatiently at the village.  He use to be a Jounin of the Falls Village but decided he was better off else where.  Now with his own team, he was able to make it back and demand the Hero Water.  He didn't get a hold of it before since the place where it is kept a secret and is past down to leader of the village.  He didn't have the fortune to become the leader, but his weak student has.  "What is taking Murasame so long?"

     "My team and I will go out and check on his status," said Kirisame.

     Kiba was left in charge of detecting the enemy while Naruto tend the woman's wounds.  It surprised him that Naruto had a background in Medic-Nin techniques.  He then heard foot steps coming.  He signaled the rest of the group about the incoming threats and everyone got to their station. 

     Hinata was beside the woman and her kids while Kiba and Akamaru were latched onto the side of the hill.  Naruto was standing behind one of the trees in front of waterfall. 

     The enemy group came out and immediately surveys the area.  They saw the lady the first team had been chasing hurt and being attended by a blue hair girl.  Two small kids were also by their side.  As they got closer, Kiba initiated the attack.

     Kiba threw a smoke bomb at the group.  He then proceeds to throw shurikens into the smoke area.  Only three ninjas out of the six came out of the smoke screen but were quickly dispatched by Naruto.  Naruto threw kunais at them as soon as they exited from the smoke which hit them straight at the heart.  None of the enemy ninjas was prepared for the second attack.  Another ninja came out from the cloud of dark smoke but he looked as though he could hardly defend himself.  Several shurikens were attached to his back and neck as he wobbled around.  Akamaru bit on the ninja's pants and tried to pull the guy down.  The ninja fell on his back which further thrust the shuriken deeper inside.

     Man, they really are weak. 

     "Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, I think its time for us to visit the Hidden Falls Village and finish this soon."

     His teammates nodded.

     Shibuki was holding the Hero Water in his hands.  The water was kept inside a glass bottle in kept in a secret room within the gigantic tree where the magical water is produced. 

     "Yo!"

     The Hidden Falls leader was shocked at the sudden noise.  He turned around and saw Naruto next to him.  "What are you doing here?"

     "I followed you of course.  You ran outside so quickly and didn't explain anything."  Naruto then noticed the water.  "So that must be the Hero Water.  Looks very complain to me."

     "This water is made from this tree itself.  In the past when the Hidden Falls was at war to protect our home, many ninjas drank the Hero Water to gain an increase in chakra.  Our ninjas were invincible.  However, the Hero Water had a huge side effect once taken.  Anyone old who takes it will die no matter how powerful they area."

     "I guess their bodies were stressed out other the limit and stopped functioning."

     "That could be it.  The young ones however manage to survive."

     "Are you planning to drink the water to save your village?"

     Shibuki looked down.  "I never wanted to be the leader in the first place.  My father died after drinking this water.  He may become powerful but it was only for a short while until he died.  Everyone calls him a hero but it's just stupid."

     Looks like I'm gonna have the same talk with him just like Inari. 

     "Look Shibuki-san, I know exactly how you feel.  My father also died protecting the Leaf Village from Kyuubi.  He died for a reason.  He loved his village just like your dad loves his.  He wants everyone there to live happily and used his life to exchange for that dream.  That is why people call him a hero.  Your father is the same way.  You can be a hero too if you have courage."

     Seeing how none of his teams are returning, Suien became worried.  He waited years for this moment and he doesn't want anything to screw it up. 

     "Shall I look for Kirisame and Murasame and their teams," Hisame asked. 

     Suien looked at the only female in their group.  "Stay here.  I don't know what happened to them but staying here is the best option now.  We can't risk falling into a trap."  He then went to a random villager and grabbed them by the collar.  "Shibuki!  Do you hear me?  I am going to kill one villager every minute if you don't show up and give me the Hero Water.  Do you understand me?"

     Shibuki recognized that voice.  It was his old sensei who left the village.  He now understands how the enemy had gotten into the village so easily. 

     "Show some courage Shibuki-san.  Many people told me before that real courage shows up when you have important things to protect.  You are the leader of this village which is a thing many people dream of.  Remember that well.  The people in this village are the important things you need to protect.  Show your courage and protect them."

     Shibuki was still confused on what to do.  He really did want to runaway and hide but he knew Naruto was right.  He was about to ask Naruto if the young man had a plan but didn't see him anywhere. 

     Team Seven was watching the scene from a hidden place on the tree.  They heard the villains' demands but made no effort to stop him.  They agreed that this was a Hidden Falls' problem and it should be up to the leader who starts the battle of retaking their home.  Each one of them hoped that Shibuki will make his decision and come out soon.

     Suien started to make a countdown and made sure it was loud enough for the whole village to hear.  He was disappointed in this student as he was about to finish counting.  "A coward to the end," he said sadly.  His right hand rose with a kunai and was about to kill his first hostage when a water tornado came out and killed his men.

     Kiba got impatient and also jumped into action.  He paired up with the female villain.  "Akamaru, lets take her down before we fight the old man."

     The dog barked saying that he was ready.

     Shibuki then jumped up from the water and started performing hand seals.  He was bathing in his own chakra due to the power boost from the Hero Water.  A water dragon appeared and attacked his old sensei however the enemy avoided the attack.

     Shibuki looks like Goku when he is powering up with the chakra coming off his body.  Do I look like that when I do that? 

     "It seems like you drank the Hero Water but don't think that it will help you.  Your chakra potential is still lower than my current level."

     The sensei and the student created swords from the water and decided to fight close range.  In the end, Shibuki did not meet up to Suien's skills.  Suien dropped up his sword and stabbed through the body of his student.

     Naruto quickly threw a kunai at Suien which made the older man jumped back.  Making quick seals, Naruto grab hold of Hinata and teleported next to Shibuki.  "Hinata, please stop that old guy while I tend to Shibuki's wounds." 

     The Hyuuga heir nodded and faced her opponent.  I can't be afraid, I will win because Naruto believes in me, she told herself. 

     "Don't hold anything back Hinata."

     Kiba didn't find that lady hard to fight with.  She was about his level or lower.  No wonder, Naruto didn't have a hard time against these guys, he thought.  "Shikyaku no Jutsu!"  Kiba body began to morph into more beastlike features.  He grew craws and longer teeth.  He was moving too fast for his opponent to follow.  Because his opponent was a girl, he didn't bother to use his claws.  He used his elbows and fists to do the damage. 

     Hisame couldn't take it anymore.  This kid who just appeared before her was seriously kicking her butt.  If this last any longer, she would surely lose.  Every time she began to made hand seals, the dog boy kept interrupting her with an attack.  She already had two broken ribs.  Couldn't he play a little nicer, she asked herself.  She then played dirty and kicked sand up and luckily hit her opponent's eyes.  She then created a whip made of water and began her first offense.

     Akamaru communicated to his master and told him to jump to avoid the female ninja's attack. 

     Kiba completely trusted his partner did as was told and ecaped from harm's way.  During the leap, he had successfully cleared his eyes from the sand and was no staring angry at her.  "Tsuuga!"  Kiba spun around with amazing speed and clawed his way to his opponent's side.  He put a large gash on her abdomen which continued to her left side.  He automatically became unconscious from the Piercing Fang attack.

     Hinata was facing off with Suien.  She couldn't forgive him for hurting Shibuki-san.  Although the Hidden Falls leader was a cowered most of the time and rude to them after they helped clean his river free of charge, he was still a nice man.  She already locked some of Suien's chakra points which should make him unbalance. 

     Suien was dumbfounded on why he was losing control of his movements.  It was like he couldn't move his body the way he wanted too because it was out of energy.  He used all available chakra he had and created another sword from the surrounding water.  As soon as he got close to the girl in the middle of a strike, a blue blur appeared and sent him away in pain.  His body was burning from whatever hit him.  Before he had the chance to stand up, the last image he saw was the pale eyes girl ran straight to him delivering a single blow to his heart. 

     Hinata closed a dangerous chakra point near the heart which causes a huge amount of stress around that area.  The internal damage he had finally took a toll on him.  The man spit out blood and ended up unconscious.  Hinata's Byakugan revealed that he was really out of commission and was no longer a threat.

     Naruto was still beside Shibuki and tending to the guy's wound.  He gave him a blood clotting pill that would help stop the blood from rushing out of his wounds.  Using a technique he learned from the Medic-Nins, he gathered chakra into his hand and sent the energy to his patient's body.  The chakra helps the cells to multiple at a fast rate, hastening the healing process. 

     I didn't expect Suien to go down that easily.  Maybe it's because he didn't drink the Hero Water this time.  I guess shinobis of the Hidden Falls are not really a threat unless they drink the Hero Water.  Looking at the place again, I don't see other ninjas around.  Don't tell me this guy is the only ninja of the village! 

     The group assembled again outside the secret entrance to the village.  Team Seven explained how they just completed a B Rank mission to Kakashi.  After seeing how his team hadn't returned, he came back to check on their status.  The young ninjas also promised not to tell anyone about the secret entrance to the Hidden Falls Village. 

     "So what was so important about the meeting that they had to call you back for Kakashi sensei," Naruto asked.

     "It was something to said," Kakashi replied.  "Hokage-sama spoke with the counsel about the unlooked threat to the village and wanted us Jounins to be present."

     "Oh?  How did it go then?"

     "Plans haven't been made yet but Hokage-sama did mention about contacting other Kages and renew a peace treaty."

     "Will that work?"

     "It's as good as a verbal agreement.  But for now, it'll help ease any tension we have with other villages."

     As Naruto was walking he noticed that there was dog dung on the floor a feet away from him.  "See Kiba, I could have stepped on that!"

     "That is gross Kiba-kun."

     "It wasn't me okay.  It was Akamaru!"

     The dog barked repeatedly trying to defend himself.  Unfortunately, only Kiba was able to understand him.

     Shibuki went back to the secret location of where the Hero Water was stored.  He wanted to be alone for awhile to pray to his father and ask for his forgiveness for being a coward.  But when he checked the Hero Water again, it seemed to be less in amount than what it should be. 

     I didn't drink that much water right? 

Author's Notes:

Some places called this village the Hidden Waterfalls Village while the anime itself called it the Hidden Falls Village.  I think I'm going to keep the anime translation for now.  Why don't I write a long conversation for the enemy?  Because they are really unimportant and died too easily.  It was sad. 

I thought Geese's special move was called Raging Storm too but when I looked it up at , its said Raising Storm.  Raging Storm sounds much cooler though.  Do you think I should switch to using Raging Storm or Raising Storm?

I'm almost finished writing chapter 5 of my other fic called Power Comes With A Price.  It's about 60% finished.  I ate some bad food the other day and now my stomach hurts.  I woke up several times last night due to the pain.  It really sucked. 

The Chuunin Exam saga is coming up next.  Naruto will find out again that things don't happen according to plans. 

Thank you for your reviews!


	8. Days Before The Chuunin Exam

Better Equipped

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

: Thoughts

Chapter 8 – Days Before The Chuunin Exam

Things have been boring after the mission at Hidden Falls Village. Team Seven continued to do small jobs such as yard work and walking dogs. Kiba didn't mind that job much since he could communicate with them. The team lost tabs with the members of Team Eight and Ten since they were all busy. Naruto wonders how the other teams' training was coming along.

A bird flew by over them that caught Kakashi and Naruto's attention. So it's that time of the year again, they both thought.

As soon as the mission was over, Kakashi declared that they were free for today and to meet up again before noon. With that said, he went off towards a special meeting.

"What are we going to do now Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"I don't know. How about we check out and see how our friends are doing." Naruto then noticed the Konohamaru and his gang using that old camouflaged box. "Hey Konohamaru, Udon, Mogei…it's been awhile. How are you guys doing?"

"That's why you are the man we most admire," Konohamaru answered.

Kiba became a little impatient since he was tired of seeing them use the same old trick to sneak up on them. Before they could use a smoke bomb for their dynamic entrance, he lifted the box away from them. "You guys sure need a new trick. This one is getting mighty old."

"Naruto-nii-chan, come and play ninjas with us," said Mogei.

"We already are ninjas," Kiba commented.

Hinata giggled at her friends' playfulness.

Konohamaru started to run around the area because he was being chased by Kiba. He made fun how Kiba smelled and how desperately he was in need of a shower. It was then that he dumped into a Sand-Nin.

"That hurt you runt!" Kankurou complain. He just gotten in the village and already had trouble with the locals.

So, this is Kankurou. He's supposed to control a mechanical puppet by using chakra strings. His sister Temari and brother Gaara should be here too. 

Naruto then noticed the girl next to the newcomer.

Wow! She's hot! Maybe we can work an alliance with the Sand Village through some marriage or something. 

Kankurou reach down and grabbed Konohamaru by his scarf.

"Don't, we'll get yelled later," Temari warned.

She certainly seems to be a nice person overall. Love the clothing she's wearing. I'm not drooling am I? 

Before the problem excavates, Naruto sent a web line onto Konohamaru and reeled him back safely with a strong tug. He then looked at the tree beside them and saw Gaara. "I guess you three are here for the Chuunin Exam. Welcome to the Hidden Leaf Village."

Not an hour passed by and Gaara had already found a strong ninja but couldn't tell if he was a threat by that one jutsu alone. "If you are done making a fool out of yourself, we should leave and find some appropriate accommodations." Gaara jumped down from the branch he was standing upside down.

His two siblings nodded and they began to leave.

"You with the blond hair," Naruto called. "If you need someone to show you around the place, don't hesitate to look me up!" He then heard small growls from Hinata.

Why am I mad at Naruto-kun. It's not like I have feelings for him in that way. I don't right? 

Temari looked at the younger ninja who spoke to her and gave him a confused look.

Was I just turned down? Anyways, Gaara didn't even asked for my name. Does that mean he doesn't see me as being strong and a threat? 

"That short guy gives me the creeps," said Kiba. "I didn't sense his presence at all. Akamaru is even scared of the guy because he radiates huge chakra. He's very strong."

"He's strong all right," Naruto backed up his friends' intuition. "Strong like a monster."

The Jounin teachers were lined up in front of the Hokage.

"You've been assembled here for one reason and all of you should know what it is by now," said the Hokage.

"It's that time already huh?" Kakashi asked.

"When will the exam take place?" Gemma asked.

"In a week," the Hokage answered. "In seven days the Chuunin Exam will begin here in Konoha. All Genins from different villages including ours will compete together in hope to gain rank as a Chuunin.

The new Genin teachers had the priority to go forth to nominate there students. Team Seven, Eight, and Ten were all nominated. Iruka went a bit ballistic as so was Gai but the Hokage ensured that the instructors know their students' capabilities best.

"My soldiers are very capable," said Kakashi. "They completed eight D Rank missions, one C Rank mission, another C Rank mission that quickly turned into a B Rank at the least, and another B Rank mission. They are ready to take this exam."

Team Seven, Eight, and Ten met up at the usual sweet shop. Naruto suggested that should hang out since everyone had a day off. He ensured those who would rather train instead that they will have plenty of time doing so after today. Everyone was actually glad that they got a day to hang out except Sasuke.

"Do you know what I feel like?" Naruto asked his friends. "I feel like a milkshake."

He earned some confused faces from his group.

"What's a milkshake?" Ino asked.

"Let me demonstrate for you instead of telling you about it." Naruto quickly ordered a three different ice cream flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. He also ordered milk. He got hold of nine glasses and put divided up the ice cream. Three glasses had vanilla, another three hold chocolate, while another three glasses hold strawberry. He then used added milk to each of the glass and instructed each of them to stir the flavor of their choice. The girls grabbed the chocolates, while Sasuke, Shino, and Kiba got vanilla. Chouji and Shikamaru got strawberry which left Naruto the one flavor he didn't want but doesn't mind having.

Everyone's face lightened up as they tasted the milkshake for the first time. It was something new to them.

"Where did you learn how to make this Naruto," Chouji asked.

"I created it myself. Instead of making new jutsus, I made new deserts."

"At least you found something you are good at," said Sasuke while showing a smirk.

Naruto laughed.

"Naruto-kun, who is that girl you were with yesterday," Sakura asked. The girl he was with seemed really pretty and she wanted to know if there was some connection between them.

"What girl? You mean Hinata?"

"No, the girl who you had dinner with at that ramen place."

"Oh yeah, yesterday was ramen night. Actually, that was a boy. He's a new Medic-Nin of the Leaf. He would be with us right now but he's currently busy. Want me to set you up? He's available."

Sakura's face reddens. It was a mix up embarrassment and rage since Sasuke was right there.

"I was only joking Sakura. We all know that there is only one person who you truly like and luckily that person is in your team. Hope you will be happy with Ino!"

Not only did Naruto earn some laughter from the group, he also earned a slap to the face from Sakura and Ino. Even Sasuke was laughing at Naruto's joke.

While the group continued to talk amongst each other, a couple of Anbus raced on top of the buildings across from them.

"Anbus are on the move," said Kiba. "Wonder if something is up?"

"Naruto, can you make me another milkshake?" Chouji asked.

"Sure, just get me any ice cream flavor you want and some milk too." As Naruto watched Chouki left, he looked at Kiba and asked about the Anbus. "Anbus? You look at them in a special way. Do you want to be an Anbu too?"

Kiba was just scratching his head because he felt embarrass. Being an Anbu means that you were a skilled ninja.

"Being an Anbu is a privilege," Sasuke stated. "You have to be a very skilled ninja. They are a rank below Jounins." Sasuke remembered how he wanted to become an Anbu like his brother. Their father would always praise Itachi and say how it was the pride of the family that he was an Anbu. "I'll become an Anbu too."

"COOL!" said Sakura and Ino.

"I don't know. Being an Anbu really isn't a thing for me." Naruto laid back on his chair and think deeply about the subject. "I would rather be in the Leaf Military Police Corps."

Sasuke's eye widens. Just hearing about the Police Corps made him uneasy. "Why join the corps?"

"Being in the Leaf Military Police Corps means I get to save more lives and help the village out. I can protect this village and the people I care about. Being an Anbu would mean I have to do assassinations and things alike. That is not a life for me. The downside to it is that I have to wear a badge with the Uchiha Clan symbol on it but nothing is perfect." Naruto smirked at Sasuke to show he was joking about that last comment.

"Anbu and the Leaf Military Police Corp…they are both very troublesome," said Shikamaru.

Naruto and Sakura were walking home. They were heading towards the same direction so they decided to go together. A familiar face stopped them and called out Naruto's name.

"Naruto!" Haku called.

The container that holds Kyuubi turned around and saw Haku. "Yo! Done with your Medic-Nin stuff?"

"Yeah, so I got off early."

"Haku, this is Sakura. Sakura, my friend Haku."

They both greeted each other properly and continued to walk.

That's a boy…he's cuter than I am, Sakura was internally complaining. "So where are you guys heading?"

"Haku's is heading over to my house tonight. I invited him over for dinner with the family. Yesterday, we ate ramen with Iruka sensei. I'm still trying to find sensei a girlfriend but no luck there yet."

Hope she doesn't ask to come over too. None of my friends know that I've been living with the Hokage and that he is my sensei. If she finds out, she might tell Sasuke and ends up making him train harder. Not exactly a thing I want happening. 

"I'm new around here so Naruto is still showing me around. I have no family but I made a few friends already."

"Met any girls?" Naruto pondered.

"You bet!"

Now that I think about it, Naruto is a bit of a pervert, Sakura thought. She hopes that he doesn't contaminate Haku's mind.

The group stopped at one of the food carts that was on the street since Naruto wanted to try out some calamaries.

"I thought you and Haku were going to eat dinner?"

"A little snack before dinner wouldn't hurt. I have a big appetite. Both of you have some too since I don't want to eat alone. It's on me."

When it was time to pay, Naruto frantically search his pockets.

Holy cow, I ran out of money! 

"I'll show you guys a final technique," said Naruto. "Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts Final Technique…."

Haku, Sakura, and the food cart owner were all wondering why the blond Genin would perform a jutsu here at this moment. Their eyes widen as they saw Naruto dashing away from the site. Both of Haku and Sakura knew they were screwed since none of them were carrying money either. Then they follow up Naruto by running away.

"Oh my god Naruto…what did you do?" Sakura screamed.

"I found out I didn't have any money on me." Naruto stopped running and turned around. "Send the bill to the Haruno Residence!"

Sakura also stopped running. If her parents found out what had just happened, she'll be in for an earful. "No! Send the bill to the Yamanaka Residence as in the Yamanaka Flower Shop!"

With that said, all three Genin began to move again as if they were on an important mission.

The Jounin instructors had already announced to their students about the Chuunin Exam. Team Seven, Eight, and Ten being the newest and youngest Genins started to train harder to compete with their more experienced fellow ninjas.

Naruto got Kakashi to teach him more jutsu that he copied from different villages. Kiba sparred against Hinata. It switches off to Hinata versus Naruto and Kiba versus Kakashi. The battle really heats up when Naruto fought Kakashi. Naruto used taijutsu and genjutsu against his sensei to further improve in those areas. The big disadvantage that he still has is his shortness. Things got weird when Kiba was up against Naruto.

"I'll show you a new jutsu I learned Naruto!" Kiba yelled.

This perked up Naruto's interest. His teammate learned a new technique in which he believes can defeat him.

"Akamaru, get ready!"

The nin-dog obeyed his partner and readies himself for the new attack. After Kiba gave him the signal, he leaped into the air into a spiral.

"Good job Akamaru! Now let Naruto have a taste of Kuuchuu Dainamikku Makingu (Air Dynamic Marking)!"

Naruto's eyes widen. He didn't think his teammate would learn that technique so soon and use it on him.

Akamaru let loose his urine and let it out during his spiral leap.

There was nothing Naruto could do but stood there and watched in horror of the attack. He then heard Kiba laughing at his soon to be victory.

"Now Akamaru, lets…."

"I quit," Naruto stated. He then proceeds to leave the training ground.

"Giving up so soon?" Kiba asked. "That's not like you."

"That's because I've never been splashed with urine before. You win. That's the most disgusting jutsu that I've ever encountered. I need a bath and a change of clothes."

Team Ten were rather lazy. Only Shino showed any real interested in training and becoming stronger. Asuma had to bribe Chouji with food for him to do something. Shikamaru on the other hand trained along with the team as long as everyone else is doing it. Even though training was troublesome, he didn't like the idea of getting killed in the exam. He still has his dream to fulfill like getting married, and then having kids which followed by getting retired when he is old.

Sasuke was breathing heavily. It seems this team is finally doing some serious training. Sakura, Ino, and Kurenai were both attacking him at very good speed. He knew he would have a hard time if Kurenai sensei got real serious so he thanked her for toning down to his pace. He doesn't like being thought as weak but Kurenai was like a mother to him. Ino was waiting for the moment Sasuke stopped moving so she could perform Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Switch Skill). It took a lot of effort to be patient since Ino wasn't having a very good day. Some guy came to her family's flower shop and demanded payment for some food that none of them ate. Sakura was tiring herself from her reckless attacks. She could never attack Sasuke seriously even though he wanted her too. She knew she was the weakest on her team and was determined to get better to at least surpass Ino. Sasuke jumped up and landed on a branch above the girls. Sakura leaped up only to see that he jumped down. Unfortunately, as soon as he landed, Ino finished her family trade jutsu and successfully transferred her mind into him.

I need to get stronger, Sakura told herself. "Hey, don't try to do anything nasty while you are in Sasuke-kun's body Ino-Pig!"

"I wasn't even thinking about it Big Forehead! You're a pervert if you thought about it."

It must be because I hung out with Naruto the other day, Sakura thought.

The three teams met again before entering the building where their exam was held. It was what Naruto suggested and everyone was fine with it. Being together with friends helped makes the nervousness goes away. As the group got onto the second floor, they saw a big commotion.

Naruto recognized them. The three making the disturbance were from Gai's team. Hyuuga Neji, last year's number one rookie. Tenten, a girl who is an expert at throwing weapons. But he doesn't know if she was efficient in using any of them in hand-to-hand combat. Rock Lee is the taijutsu expert in the group and a mean drunk. Naruto started to motion the group to continue to the third floor without disturbing the crowd. His reason behind this was the less people participating, the higher the chance they become Chuunins. The others seemed to agree upon Naruto's suggestion, surprisingly even Sasuke.

Actually, my real intention is that Lee and Sasuke doesn't fight each other. This way, Sasuke can't copy Lee's move. That will be a huge plus on my side. Gai's team not participating in this exam is just an extra benefit. 

The group was greeted by their Jounin instructors before entering the door. They were given instructions that each of them can only remain in the exam if they have a team of three. They were all congratulated for coming this far and was wished the best of luck on passing.

Upon entering the room, they noticed how the room was filled with older Genins from the same and different villages. Naruto motioned them to gather at a corner so they could easily talk with each other and not be disturbed. Naruto quickly scanned the area for the key players of the exam. He could see Gaara and his team sitting at the middle table. The Sound-Nins looked like they were discussing something secret. He also found Kabuto and his team. To his dismay, the Sound-Nin spy was walking towards them.

"You all look so young," said Kabuto. "This must be your first time taking the exam."

Funny, I don't recall him saying this. It seems that his goal was to steal our trust so we would lower our guard when they attack the village or kidnap Sasuke. This means he would come and talk to us regardless of our situation using any friendly communication necessary. 

Kabuto started to show his Secret Information Cards. Kiba asked one card on Gaara and his stats were interesting. Naruto asked if there was a card with his information on it. The spy wondered what the blond was up to but did so to gain their trust. Upon seeing his face on the card, Naruto quickly grabbed the card and destroyed it.

"Sorry about that," Naruto apologized. "Can't have a stranger running around with information about me right? Who knows, it could be used against me in this exam." Naruto managed to say all this with a straight face. "Say, do you have cards on all of us?"

"I might but something tells me I should keep that information to myself for now."

"Wise move. Now, don't go using those information for evil you hear?" Naruto laughed hard to show that he made a joke and shouldn't be taken seriously.

Smoke appeared in the front area revealing Ibiki and the elite Chuunins.

"My name is Morino Ibiki. I'll be your examiner for the first stage of your test. All of you have been assigned with a seat so that you sit away from your teammates. Please come up and match the number we give you with the number that is on each seat."

So this will be the ones who will participate in the exam huh. Not that many people as I remembered from the series. Oh yeah, maybe they are still stuck at that genjutsu downstairs. Is Lee's team really going to miss out on attending this Chuunin Exam? 

The door opened wide and entered Lee, Tenten, and Neji.

"Couldn't you have used your Byakugan a little earlier?" Lee complained to Neji. "We were almost late."

Guess they did show up after all. Say, Tenten is cute also! 

Author's Note:

Thanks for the reviews!

I'm in the middle of writing the fighting scene for Power Comes With A Price fic. Hopefully I'll be done by end of this week.

Yeah, nothing really happened in this fic. I thought the characters should have some time off and hang out, thus creating a stronger bond.


	9. The Chuunin Exam: Written Test!

Better Equipped

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

Italics: All thoughts will now be in italics because the brackets won't display for some odd reason.

Chapter 9 - The Chuunin Exam: Written Test?!

The last of the Genin had finally been seated. Ibiki announced the rules of the written exam in a very cryptic way. Each Genin nodded their heads to show they were listening. Eighty percent of the people present actually understood the real meaning of the exam. Ibiki also mentioned that the tenth question would be given in the last ten minutes.

Unlike the original series, Naruto sat away from Hinata this time. Since they are in the same group, they were arranged to sit far away. Sitting next to him was Tenten.

_ I didn't expect that she would be arranged to sit next to me. It must be my lucky day or something. I should introduce myself to her. _

"Hi there," Naruto greeted. "Looks like you're from the Leaf also. My name's Naruto."

Tenten looked at the blond boy sitting next to her. He was kinda short but had amazing eyes. She wondered why the bottom half of his face was covered with a mask. Might be an injury, she thought.

"Hi, My name's Tenten. Is this your first time taking the exam?"

"Yeah, I'm actually a new Genin. You look familiar; aren't you on the team that's taught by Maito Gai?" In reality, he never met her before today but he wanted the conversation to continue.

"That's right. Ah, have we met?"

"Not really. I know your sensei though. I'm from Hatake Kakashi's team. It seems that both our teachers are rivals. Or at least that's what Gai believes. Don't know why Gai even picked Kakashi as his rival though. Sure, sensei is a genius but he is also really lazy and unmotivated at times." Now that I mention this, he's just like Shikamaru at times, he thought to himself.

"Gai should've chose some other person instead like Asuma. At least the rivalry would be more competitive…maybe."

Tenten giggled at her new friend's logic. Gai sensei does mention from time to time about his rival. She had always wondered how the other sensei's students felt about this, and now she knew.

"So, your teammates are that guy with the bowl cut hair style wearing that green body suit and that other guy from the Hyuuga Clan?"

"That's right." Tenten gave him a confused look. "How did you know that?"

"It wasn't hard not to notice since you were the last team to arrive. I also have a Hyuuga in my team so I have experience in telling who is from that clan. Nothing to brag about, of course, since anyone can tell by their pale eyes. Say, maybe after the exam we could-"

"You have one hour to complete this exam!" Ibiki yelled. "Begin!"

_ Damn you, Ibiki! Guess I can ask her out another time. I'm still young so, no hurries. A mind of a mid twenty year old being stuck in a twelve year old body really sucks at times. _

A few minutes past and Naruto still didn't pick up his pencil.

_ So this test is an hour long, huh? I have to keep myself occupied somehow. Guess I can focus on the second exam portion. If I remember correctly, the Naruto in the original series passed with a blank paper because everyone who stays for the tenth question automatically pass. Orochimaru will show himself in the next exam. He'll try to give Sasuke that curse seal. I'll need to stop that from happening. _

The Chuunin Examiners were perplexed that Naruto didn't even pick up his pencil yet. Then they thought that he might be waiting for the right moment to use some spying technique and cheat off someone. All the kid was doing was staring down at his test and it looked like he was starting to doze off. That shouldn't happen of course, sense sleeping during the exam is very stupid.

Sakura was reading through the exam questions. To her surprise, many of the questions on it were very complex. She and Naruto could probably answer the questions because it involves book smarts and experience. Everyone else she knew shouldn't be able to. Then she theorized that half the people in the room shouldn't be able to either. Putting her hands together, she prayed that Sasuke and Ino don't do something stupid like cheating. Sasuke is smart enough to know that but she wasn't too sure about Ino.

"Stupid Ino-Pig!" Inner Sakura yelled. "Don't mess things up for Sasuke-kun and me!"

Sasuke sweat dropped. He couldn't answer a single one of these questions. His psychiatrist said that he shouldn't get mad so easily. He thought back about his past. He doesn't remember that his brother was this smart. Of course he didn't know every detail about his brother or else he might have been able to stop the clan's massacre. I need to cheat, he thought.

_ It looks like everyone in the room has started to use their jutsu to cheat. Let's see, in the series, Tenten, who is next to me, attached some strings to the mirrors on the ceiling. Judging by the way her fingers are moving right now, she's staying in character. She moves the mirrors so that Lee can see the answers too. Neji and Hinata will have no problem with their Byakugan. Akamaru should be relaying the answers to Kiba. I also remembered that Sasuke used his Sharingan to copy the movement of one of the hidden Chuunins. Sakura was able to do the test just fine without cheating and Ino used the Shintenshin to read all of Sakura's answers off her paper. The Sound-Nins use the sound frequencies that give off from writing the answers. It's like they are Superman or something. Gaara used his Third Eye jutsu while his brother used that doll to collect the answers and give it to his cute sister later on. _

It didn't really matter to Naruto if they used the cheating techniques like in the series. As long as his team passed, he was satisfied enough. Naruto picked up the pencil with his right hand and started to write.

This caught the Chuunin Examiners' attention. Those who were supposed to keep an eye on him were interested to see what he was going to do. He seemed to be waiting for something before starting. To their disappointment, it looked like the short blond ninja of the Leaf wrote a few words and dropped his pencil down again.

Almost forgot to write down my name, Naruto thought. He closed his eyes and felt high usage of chakra in the room. The time was almost up for the first half of this exam and Naruto was glad that it was almost over. He then continued to think about Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke. Things were really going to heat up soon.

He hadn't heard word from Jiraiya or Tsunade. The last time he saw Tsunade was when he went on that training trip with Jiraiya, when he was ten. He had learned a lot from those two. Having one of them around early in the war would surely help. It would really help prevent the Third from getting killed by Orochimaru.

Before the Chuunin Exam started, he made a request to the Hokage to look for Jiraiya and Tsunade. Jiraiya should be in Konoha in two weeks by the Hot Springs District so looking for him is easy. Tsunade on the other hand was somewhere hanging out at the gambling places. He needed at least one of them, if not both, to be present.

Naruto tried to stop thinking about the whole subject. It wouldn't be good if he fried his brain about things that he couldn't control. Ever since he got to this world, into this body, he had been trying to control his fate and the people around him. It was hard not to since he knew what was going to happen in the future. It would be plain stupid if he didn't prepare himself for it. This world was actually a cool place and he sure didn't want to die. Naruto at least wanted to get married in this life, which he missed out on with the other. The best thing for him to do right now was to relax. With the free time he had right now, he should be thinking about what to write in his current book.

Naruto breathed in deeply.

_ Tenten has a wonderful scent! _

Tenten was distracted by her fellow Leaf-nin sitting next to her. He had been breathing in deeply for quite some time. She was thinking that maybe he was really nervous and was trying to calm down. Either that or he was doing some jutsu that requires breathing deeply.

"You should be finishing off answering the questions now," Ibiki stated. "In another five minutes, we will be going over the tenth question." He surveyed the room intently. Every examinee seemed to be working and concentrating hard. Except…

_ Why am I short? I drink milk everyday and actually eat right unlike the original Naruto. Maybe having Kyuubi sealed within me has something to do with it. Thinking about it again, I'm even shorter than Hinata and she is the shortest girl that I know. Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and Temari are all tall. This totally sucks. Grow damn it…grow…grow…grow...! _

Ino stared at her blank paper. Although she was considered smart, this kind of test makes you rely more on book smarts which is more in Sakura's alley. The only people who can answer these questions are Sakura and Naruto, she thought. She was waiting until either one of them was finished then take over their body and memorize the answers. After that, she would transfer back into her body and write the answers on her paper. Unfortunately, Ino didn't keep a close eye on Naruto and thought he was finished because he sat still with his pencil down. "Shintenshin no Jutsu," Ino whispered.

Sakura was secretly watching Naruto soon after she read through the questions of the written exam. She considered Naruto a rival in the brains department. She wasn't really good with jutsus so Sakura concentrated on studying instead. It blows her mind that Naruto is as smart as her and excellent with jutsus. Deep down, she yearns to be like him sense he is very talented. However, she was still confused about whether to be stronger for the sake of her own, or to impress Sasuke. Suddenly, she saw Naruto make a weird reaction that was unexpected. She was trying to make sense on why Naruto grabbed his paper in shock with his eyes bulging out.

Ino who is in Naruto's body is completely paralyzed in shock.

_ Oh my god! Naruto's paper is blank! He's supposed to be as smart as Sakura, right? I should have used the Mind Body Switch jutsu on Sakura instead. It'll take me awhile to use the jutsu again and time is something I don't have! Sasuke and Sakura are going to kill me! _

All eyes in the room were on Ibiki after the five minutes were up.

"Now, you must decide if you want to take the tenth question. If you decide 'no', you will get zero points in total and you and your team will fail. If you decide 'yes', you will take the test but if you manage to not answer the tenth and last question correctly, you are forever disallowed to take the Chuunin Exam. If you do decide on 'no', you are welcome to take the exam again next time."

As predicted, most of the examinees complained but Ibiki made it clear that this rule will not change.

"Let's make this super clear. Those of you who wish to quit now, please raise your hand."

Luckily, Ino managed to get out of Naruto's body just in time for her body to rest and be able to perform her family trademark jutsu again. She went into Sakura's body and got the answers she needed. That was one of the most terrifying experience she ever faced. She was that close to having Sasuke mad at her for failing the team, and having Sakura getting a boost about herself and using this situation to get closer with her future boyfriend. Naruto on the other hand, was confused how he could doze off during an important time.

As the minutes flew by, more people decided to quit because they couldn't take the pressure. Seeing that there were no more quitters, Ibiki announced that they passed.

"Information can be very useful and whoever has it has the advantage of winning. That is the purpose of the first part of this exam. As for the second, being a Chuunin means that you know that you can't always avoid danger. Chuunins need to have courage to survive through any hardship. That is what you really need to become a ninja. Those who decided not to take the exam because they could always 'take it the next' time are not fit to have the Chuunin title. This is my belief as I wish it is yours. The first Exam of the Chuunin Selection is now completed. I wish you all luck on the next exam."

_ Ibiki can be a very cool guy every once in awhile. The scars on his head are really nasty though. Poor guy. Guess I'll need to train harder to make sure that I will never be in one of those positions. With the first exam finished, Anko should appear any minute now. I'll leave Ibiki a little present so he won't get bored during the examination. _

Naruto turn towards Tenten. "Congratulations on passing this exam."

The young kunoichi smiled at Naruto. "Thank you and congratulations to you too. How long did it take for you to find those hidden Chuunins?"

_ I didn't try to find them at all actually. Guess she was too busy to notice my exam is blank. She can't tell that I didn't do anything anymore since all our exam papers are flipped backwards. _

"It didn't take me that long. It must have been tough for you to attach chakra strings onto the mirrors, to look at the hidden Chuunin's paper. Plus, relaying them to your teammate with the thick eyebrows."

This astonishes Tenten. "You actually caught on what I was doing?" After seeing Naruto's nod, she exhaled heavily. "Looks like I need more work on that. Anyway, it wasn't too difficult to control the mirrors. Neji, my teammate from the Hyuuga Clan has the Byakugan so I don't need to worry about him. As for Rock Lee, he's not quite good with ninjutsu so I need to help him out."

"Hey, let's get together after…"

The window shattered and Mitarashi Anko appeared. After her dynamic entrance, Naruto was the only one who actually clapped and praised her.

_ Sure, she interrupted me asking Tenten out but it was a good entrance. _

"There are twenty teams left," Anko calculated. "Just about right, I guess."

"The outstanding ones stayed, while the weaklings left." Ibiki stated.

"I'll cut more than half of them off in the next exam. Ah, I'm getting really excited about this. I'll explain everything to you all after we arrive to next area where the second part of the exam is held."

Ibiki was alone in the room while everyone else left for the second part of the exam. Even the Chuunins left with Anko. He walked around the room and collected the papers. He finally made it to Naruto's paper.

_ Someone actually passes the test with a blank paper. What an interesting guy this Uzumaki Naruto. _

He then read the only sentence that was written on the exam. It was below the line where the examinee fills out their name.

_ Yakushi Kabuto of the Leaf is a Sound-Nin spy. He's at Jounin level. Be extremely cautious! _

Ibiki gripped the paper hard in his hand. It looks like they had a spy in their midst. A spy Orochimaru sent in to observe the Leaf. He met Naruto before and knew he was an intelligent boy and doesn't doubt his word.

_ I need to speak with the Hokage about this. _

Author's Notes:

Thanks for the review!

I want to thank Masiyuu for helping me proofread this chapter. I got this bad habit of reading over my own work only after I post it up. When I do catch my own errors, I would be too lazy to fix it sometimes.

A lot of readers are wondering about the pairing in this fanfiction. I think it's still too early in the story to have any real pairings. You just have to wait and see what is going to happen. But it probably won't be a Naruto and Hinata pairing which will be explained later in the story. However I might change my mind depending on the direction the story is going. Hopefully I'll be able to make it fun and entertaining for all the readers.

Does anyone know why the and brackets doesn't show up anymore? I used italics on this fic to separate the thoughts from the other paragraphs so it would be easier to read. It's probably going to be like that from now on so I hope everyone will be use to it.

I got a question about Anko. I looked at her bio and it says she's about 24 years old. However, she was trained by Orochimaru when she was little so shouldn't she be as old as Naruto's father? She should be somewhere in her 30s right? Plus, Orochimaru should be the same age as Jiraiya when he taught the 4th which means the 4th and Anko should be around the same age. So, Anko is old enough to be Naruto's mom right?


	10. The Chuunin Exam: Orochimaru

Better Equipped

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

: Thoughts

Chapter 10 - The Chuunin Exam: Orochimaru

"Welcome to Area 44, where the second part of the Chuunin Exam will take place!" Anko greeted them. "This place is also known as the Forest of Death and you'll soon find out why it's been called that."

"Forest of Death, huh?" Naruto pondered.

Anko continued to give instructions about the rules and the scrolls while Naruto payed more attention to a certain Grass-Nin.

_ So, that's Orochimaru in disguise. I can't sense strong chakra coming from him so I'll need to make sure that this person is really Orochimaru. I can feel that he is suppressing his chakra to Genin level to avoid being suspicious. All I have to do now is go according to the plan I've made. _

At the moment, Kiba saw that Akamaru was nervous from sensing bad vibes coming from Area 44. He patted his partner on the head and tried to calm him down. "Don't worry, Akamaru. We'll get through this place easily." He gave Akamaru one of his best arrogant grins. "The Forest of Death is as scary as a carnival."

Suddenlym, a kunai flew past Kiba's face.

Naruto stared at the scene, dumbfounded.

_ Holy cow! Kiba unknowingly did the job for me. Thanks for being my replacement, bud. _

"Not being serious can get you killed, you know," Anko stated. She appeared in back of Kiba and grabbed him in a chokehold. She withdrew another kunai and slowly pierced into Kiba's skin.

_ You're so lucky Kiba, to be held by such a lady! Do I have something for bloodthirsty women? Screw being replaced, the person she is holding should have been me. Damn you, Kiba! _

While Anko and Kiba were still trading insults, the Grass-Nin wearing a straw hat walked by and gave the kunai back to Anko which she threw earlier. The kunai was being held by the Grass-Nin's abnormally long tongue.

"You shouldn't sneak up on me like that." Anko warned. "You just might end up dead."

"I'm truly sorry, but your kunai cut my hair and it got me a little excited."

"It looks like we have a lot of bloodthirsty ones in this exam."

Naruto walked up to his teammate to check on Kiba's status. "You don't look too good, man. It looks like you're about to perform that Air Dynamic Marking technique instead of Akamaru."

"Do you ever learn to shut up?" Kiba replied.

After Team Seven was called in to trade their application for a scroll, Naruto made his way towards Anko. "Anko-san!"

Anko turned around to see who called her name and saw Naruto approaching. "Naruto? This part of the exam will definitely rock. A lot of blood will spill. Don't you find that exciting?"

The blond Genin gave her a confused look. "Sure, I'm overwhelmed with joy. Anyways, I got something important to tell you. We can't talk over here, so let's go to a more secluded area and bring two Chuunins with us."

"What is this about Naruto?"

"I believe we have an uninvited guest in our midst."

As the group got to a secluded area, Naruto motioned everyone to step into a small circle.

"We need to delay this second exam for awhile," said the blond Genin. After seeing that everyone was confused at his suggestion, he planned to reveal what he knew of the situation. "Time is something we don't have so I'm going straight to the point. I believe that Orochimaru has entered this Chuunin Exam and is disguised as the Grass-Nin who returned your kunai to you."

"Are you insane?" one of the Chuunin asked. "What reason does Orochimaru-sama have to enter the Chuunin Exam?"

Anko had kept quiet for awhile. Her former master coming back to the village was too good to be true. A long time ago, she vowed to kill the Snake Sennin after he betrayed the village by performing illegal experiments with members of the Leaf Village Ninjas and giving her the curse seal. Her mind popped back towards the present moment and she studied Naruto's features. The lower half of the young ninja's face was hidden beneath a mask so it was difficult to analyze his expressions. However, Naruto's eyes seem genuine and he wasn't one to kid about this type of situation.

"How can you be sure that it's Orochimaru?" Anko asked.

"Well, the long tongue is a dead giveaway. Sure, body elongated jutsus are common in some places but it's strange that the Grass-Nin would use that jutsu to return your kunai. Why would he use a jutsu while he could simply return the kunai by hand? He could just be showing off but it felt more like that Grass-Nin is trying to tell you that he and you are somewhat related or knew each other. Plus, he also said that he loves the sight of blood which is something you got from your sensei."

Naruto let the information sink into their heads before continuing. "He might not seem strong now but that is because he's suppressing his chakra. I can feel his hidden power and it's way above Genin level."

Before he knew it, Anko began to storm off towards the direction of her former sensei but Naruto quickly tag her with a web line and stopped her from advancing. "You'll only get killed faster that way, plus a lot of Genins will probably get hurt on that battle site. Luckily I have a plan. I know I'm just a Genin, but hear me out.

"We can't take care of this situation ourselves," said Naruto. "At the moment, I don't think there is anyone in the Leaf that could match his strength. Hokage-sama is getting too old and Tsunade and Jiraiya-sama are no where to be found. He must've entered this exam for a reason and we should assume it isn't good, at least not good for our side. We should postpone the examination for now until this situation is taken cared of. Even if that man is not Orochimaru, we should still make sure. I asked for two Chuunins to be here because I want one of you to contact Hokage-sama while the other gathers all available Jounins and Anbus. Have them meet up with Hokage-sama and let him make the decisions."

"Anko-san, I know you hold deep hatred towards that man, but please don't do anything foolish. Only another Legendary Sennin can possibly take him on. No suicide attempts, okay?"

Anko gathered the Genins again and announced that the exam was put on hold due to some difficulties. A lot of people complained while some actually welcome the given time to rest and develop strategies.

"What's happening?" Kiba asked. "I want to get this over quickly."

"Good things come to those who are patient," said Naruto. He was walking towards his team.

"Where did you go, Naruto-kun?"

"I went off to talk with Haku. He came by to say "hi  
and stuff and left after wishing us good luck."

_ I'm sorry that I have to lie. If Orochimaru somehow overhears, everything will become difficult and unpredictable. A lot of lives are at stake here. I have to think for the best of people's interest. _

The Third Hokage was at a small meeting with the ninja council until a Chuunin rushed in and said there was important information.

"Orochimaru?" the Hokage repeated. "He's at the exam now? How did you get this information?"

"I received the information from one of our Leaf Genins sir. It was Uzumaki Naruto."

Sandaime nodded. If Naruto was involved somehow, it means he'll need to check up on the situation. The boy was a reliable ninja but not a reliable writer since he writes so damn slow. "Assemble all available Jounins…"

"That has already been taken care of, sir. Naruto requested two Chuunins. One to contact you whiles the other assemble the Jounins and Anbus and meet up with us here."

Short minutes later, the room was filled with the Hidden Leaf's best.

"Some of you may know this already but we have information that Orochimaru may have infiltrated our village and is currently participating in the Chuunin Exam under a false identity. The subject is dangerous and is classified as an S-Class Criminal. He is disguised as a Hidden Grass Ninja who wears a straw hat. We are to secure the Genins. Let the Chuunin Exam continue but leave the Grass-Nins out."

Naruto and his team sat far away from the large crowd to go over their own strategies. He noticed that Hinata was unconsciously shaking a bit but it's understandable. "Don't worry, Hinata-chan. You trained very hard for this exam so you will do very well. Remember your training. You are a Hyuuga, the Leaf's noble family. Being confident also means you have to be arrogant at times. So, I guess you should try to be arrogant but think before your actions. If you really do see that your opponent is at a higher level than you, don't pick a fight. Also remember that Kiba and I are here beside you."

Akamaru barked.

"Oh sorry, and you have Akamaru here too," Naruto corrected.

_ Well, being extremely arrogant did boost up Ranma's confidence way up so I hope it would work for her. _

"Yeah, we'll be here Hinata, so don't worry," said Kiba.

Team Eight and Ten were also wondering what was happening as like the other Genins in the exam. Each of the Leaf Genin teams sat away from each other since it may seem awkward later if they were pit against another. Shikamaru was actually glad that the exam was still on hold. It gives him time to relax a bit.

The Chuunins that Naruto sent out returned and relayed a message to Anko.

"Okay, Genins!" Anko yelled out. "The exam is about to begin. Please go to your assigned gate. Once the gates are opened, steal the opposite scroll you have and meet up at the tower in the middle of the forest. I only have one piece of advice to you all… Don't die!"

_ What did the Hokage planned? _

Anko saw that Naruto was looking at her with a questioning expression. "Naruto! Didn't you hear? You and your team are supposed to go to your assigned gate. Don't you guys want to be Chuunin?"

Naruto nodded.

_ I guess they want to clear the battlefield from us Genins. Let us continue our exam inside while they battle Orochimaru on the outside. Guess I'll do my part here and take care of Kabuto and the other Sound-Nins. _

Once Team Seven got to their assigned gates, Naruto went over the strategy.

"Once the gate opens, Hinata-chan, use your Byakugan and locate the nearest team and use your x-ray vision to see if they have the opposite scroll. Akamaru, use your hearing and tell us if something is approaching us. There are animals, giant bugs, and man-eating plants in there so it's your job to tell us. Everyone be cautious of traps that other teams may put up. If one of our teammates has been gone from our sight and return, we should make passwords to make sure that person is the real thing. We'll make some code that keeps changing. Kiba, your password will be Asuma. Use his name in any sentence you like. Hinata-chan, use Kurenai-san's name in any opening sentence you wish. I'll use Iruka-sensei's name. Remember each other's key word in the code because once we enter, it won't be safe to say the password again."

Team Ten were also going over their strategy again before the exam continues.

Shikamaru looked at his teammates. He is well-known in the group as a genius of making strategic plans. "Here is the plan again. We only and I repeat only target weak and low level Genins."

"I still can't believe that's the plan Shikamaru," Shino said disappointingly. "You're saying this as if we are weak."

"If Shikamaru says so then it's our best option," said Chouji, backing Shikamaru up.

"Thanks."

On another side of the Forest of Death, Team Eight was getting excited, or at least Sasuke was.

"What can we do?" Ino asked. "We got the weakest team in this Genin exam."

"I'm not weak," Sasuke defended.

"I didn't mean that Sasuke-kun. You are strong while we are weak, especially Sakura here who is the weakest one in the team."

"Hey!" Sakura couldn't really defend herself since Ino's comment was true. She hasn't really trained herself because she wasn't really motivated. The only reason why she trains is to compete against Ino for Sasuke's affection. "I guess we should concentrate on targeting the weakest team in this exam. That is the smartest thing to do in our situation."

"But we are the weakest team, Big Forehead!"

"Shut up, Ino-Pig!"

Sasuke stopped the two from arguing farther. "We are not the weakest here. If we plan correctly, we should be able to secure a scroll."

Sakura was feeling a bit better. Sasuke seems really confident about winning and getting through this exam. A little confidence began to build within her. "You're right Sasuke-kun. You are an elite Uchiha after all. We'll get through this."

_ That's right. I am a god! Seems like being in this weak group too long has made me super arrogant. Need to talk to my psychiatrist about this after the exam is over. _

The green light appeared above the gates which signaled them to enter. The Genins began to run in and started hunting.

Orochimaru was waiting impatiently. Things happened that weren't going according to his plans. He should have already been inside and gave Sasuke his curse seal. It was if some force was working against him. Something caught his attention. Things were a little too quiet for his taste. Years of experience had taught him to be very suspicious of every little detail. His instincts told him to move and he did just that. A shadow burst out from the trees behind him but only managed to capture his men.

"This is the Shadow Copy Skill if I remember correctly," Orochimaru stated. "Kage Mane no Jutsu?"

Shikamaru's father came out in the open. Orochimaru's men who were captured by his shadow exactly copied his movement. He released his jutsu right before kunais were launched against the henchmen. Jouins and Anbus had now appeared on the scene. Behind them was the Third Hokage, Orochimaru's sensei.

"What are you doing back here, Orochimaru?" The Third asked.

"Sarutobi sensei, how good it is to see you again. This welcoming act you have is a bit too much, don't you think?" Orochimaru was trying to buy him sometime to think. The number of ninjas present would surely delay his plans. Waiting to finish him off is a large number of Jounins, Anbus, and his old sensei. Now, he wasn't going to let them have their way. It's not his style.

"It's time we finished what we started a long time ago Orochimaru!" Anko yelled.

"Why, it's Anko my dear old student. How have you been? I don't believe you actually have the skills to detect me, so how did everyone know I was here?"

Ibiki made his appearance known in the crowd. "One of our spies gave us information that you would make an appearance during this examination."

"A spy, you say?"

"I believe you know the man very well. Why don't you show yourself to our guest?"

Kabuto slowly walked out from behind Ibuki. "Orochimaru-sama, you didn't really think I would betray the Leaf, would you?"

Orochimaru looked into the eyes of the one who betrayed him. "How dare you betray me, Kabuto!"

"They happen to offer better benefits."

Ibiki smirked. It seemed like his plan was working. The Kabuto beside him was actually a fake whom Kakashi had used Henge no Jutsu to transform. After receiving information from Naruto, he quickly went over Kabuto's files and everything he'd found looked very suspicious. The Sound-Nin spy failed the Chunnin Exam many times by resigning. He belonged to a family who were enemies of the Leaf. Kabuto was taken in and raised as the adopted son of the head of the Medic-Nin Division after the battle that killed his folks. Earlier, he called for a special Anbu team to retrieve the boy. It was likely the team he sent will encounter Kabuto in Area 44. If things went wrong, he hoped this little show will turn Orochimaru against his spy and kill him later on spot. This will save the Leaf trouble.

"I do have a strong grudge against the Leaf. I will admit that. But today is not the day where we settle our differences." Orochimaru made quick hand seals that only high skill ninjas were able to see. He created a massive wind which knocked out all surrounding ninjas.

Those unaffected by the jutsu immediately launch a counter strike. However, the attacks were neutralized by four Anbus.

"Did you think that Kabuto was my only spy?"

The four masked Anbus quickly removed their disguise and reveal themselves as Orochimaru's main bodyguards.

"I can't believe we were discovered this fast," said Tayuya, the only female in the bodyguard group. "I knew we couldn't trust Kabuto. He seemed too much of an ass kisser and would succumb to any greater benefits. He's a lot worse than the tub of lard next to me."

"Shut up, Tayuya!" Jiroubou yelled. "You always try to put me down at any chance you get."

Kidoumaru didn't say anything and started to spray his webbing over the enemy ninjas. The situation didn't look good to him as they were being overwhelmed in numbers. If a real fight broke loose, they wouldn't stand a chance against that many ninjas. In addition, a lot of the Leaf-Nins looked really strong. He used all six hands to shoot off his webbing.

"Orochimaru-sama, please leave the area," said Sakon. "We will meet up with you later."

Orochimaru nodded his head before giving his sensei a cold smile. Then he jumped into the Forest of Death to seek his prey.

The other two bodyguards performed their own unique skills to delay the Leaf-Nins. Tayuya played her flute to put the ninjas into a genjutsu while Jiroubou created an earth dome over them. However, the Leaf-Nins proved to be very skilled and defuse all their efforts. Soon enough, all the Leaf-Nins were free.

"Don't take us so lightly," said the Hokage. "All present here are Konoha's elite ninjas."

Seeing that they were in big trouble now since their master was gone, each of the Sound-Nin bodyguards decided to leave the premises. They nodded to each other and quickly perform a teleportation jutsu.

Most of the Leaf-Nins there was about to pursue the enemy but was stopped by the Hokage.

The Hokage clenched his fist tightly seeing how he had missed another chance to kill his fallen student. Then he ordered a team of Anbus to chase after Orochimaru whom was the real target.

Anko followed the Anbus not caring if she disobeyed any orders. She vowed to kill her old sensei for betraying the Leaf and putting the dreaded seal on her.

"Everyone, return to your regular post," the Hokage commanded. "If we follow the bodyguards, we might unknowingly fall into a trap. We have yet to know the reason why Orochimaru has returned to the Leaf Village. Remember to be on alert from now on in case something happens. We will have a meeting as soon as we know Orochimaru's status."

Once in the forest, Hinata activated her Byakugan. Finding and retrieving the scrolls was a very simple task when they had the skills, strategy, and tools. They now had the two scrolls needed to pass this exam.

Naruto couldn't stop thinking about what was going on outside. Had the Leaf finally gotten rid of Orochimaru, or did he make a getaway? He knew that bad guys usually manage to escape being utterly defeated from watching television shows in his past life. However, the good guys do tend to win in the end. Sometimes the victory cost the hero's life but that was something he didn't want to think about. He hoped that Orochimaru would at least run away from the Leaf Village for awhile. He knows that he couldn't take on the Snake Sennin by himself. He could barely fight against the Jounins at his current state. There were many reasons. One was that he had a short body so the opponent would have the size advantage. Another was that his chakra manipulation was still not perfect. He still tend you use too much chakra in his jutsu more than what is needed. Orochimaru still has many years of experience over him and that was a very big disadvantage.

"Alright, we got a complete set of scrolls," Kiba pointed out. "Should we head to the tower now?"

Naruto was thinking hard. The important thing now was to know the situation outside of Area 44 and Sasuke's status. "Hinata-chan, can you locate Sasuke?" Finding Sasuke was an easier task than using the Byakugan to locate the huge fight outside the forest. First off, they don't know which direction the fight against Orochimaru was held and it could be on the opposite side of Area 44. Secondly, Hinata will probably over exert herself from using too much chakra to locate the fight. Lastly, there was no guarantee that Hinata is able to see that far since he hasn't tested the maximum distance in which the Byakugan can see.

"Oh? Why are we looking for Sasuke?" Kiba was ready to go to the tower, but now he knew his teammate has other plans.

_ I should start telling them the truth now. I won't benefit from anything if I keep them in the dark. They deserve to know what's going on since they are on the same boat as I am. _

"I'm going to disclose some confidential information for you right now. Akamaru, please warn us if you sense any incoming danger. Okay, there has been an illegal infiltration in this Chuunin Exam by an S-Class Criminal. He is one of the Three Legendary Sennin who is a wanted man because he betrayed the Leaf. He is the Snake Sennin, Orochimaru-sama. All available Jounins, Anbus, and the Hokage are currently battling him at this moment. However, in my experience, people like Orochimaru don't die easily. I believe that his target is Sasuke for unknown reasons."

"So we find Sasuke and see if he's alright? That should be a simple task to do."

Naruto looked at Kiba seriously. "Whatever happens, do not, I repeat, do not attack Orochimaru." He let that information sink in before continuing. "He's an S-Class Criminal, a Legendary Sennin for that matter so we can't beat him. Not even Kakashi can beat him. The Hokage is getting too old for a task like that which means we need another of the Legendary Three to at least stop him or make him run."

"I think you are underestimating us Naruto. We can take him on. We even beat Kakashi remember?"

The container of Kyuubi looked at his friend like he had grown a second head. "Kiba, the fight with Kakashi during the bell exam wasn't even a real fight. He just wanted to test our teamwork. If he wanted to, he could have gotten out of our trap with a few jutsus. Kakashi sensei is supposed to be a genius and what is scarier is that Orochimaru is stronger by a lot."

_ Furthermore, that snake is more powerful than Kakashi. To sum it up, I am totally screwed. But I should be able to give him a decent fight since I've been training all these years to fight him. _

"I know it's going to be tough but please listen and follow my next instructions. You are not to interfere in the fight if Orochimaru does take on Sasuke. I will fight him alone."

"You're nuts! We are a team…."

"Kiba-kun is right. We can't just leave you to fight."

"You both will only get killed out there. I have the best chance to slow him down until reinforcement comes. But your jobs are equally important. Bare with me ok? When Orochimaru does leave, it is your job to take care of the wounded. That'll probably be me, Saskue, Ino, and Sakura. You'll have to protect us because no matter what happens, we are stuck in here until five days when the exam ends. Do you understand?"

The two nodded hesitantly.

"I don't like this at all but I understand," Kiba stated.

Naruto acted cool but deep within, he was afraid. For the first time since he was technically born in this world, he was afraid. All the planning he had done hadn't really prepared him for this moment. Everything to him was a game until now. If he makes one mistake, it could cost him a lot. He and his friends would be in danger. Naruto looked at his hands and find them shaking. All these time helping Hinata find her courage and he was still weak.

_ Everything in this world is real. I'm Naruto and that is real. If I bleed, the blood is real. If I die, my death will be real. I'm scared. Is this what all heroes and superheroes go through? I use to dream a life like this and now since I'm actually living it, I can't help but feel regret and wish my old life back. _

"I'll share something with you guys. I'm very scared." Naruto took a couple of deep breaths.

_ Scared enough to perform Air Dynamic Marking. Guess I shouldn't have made fun of Kiba earlier. _

"Hinata-can, have you located Sasuke?"

The Byakugan was activated and scanned around the area. Hinata wished that she found Sasuke soon and could say that he was fine. Her best friend and teammate sounded not like himself as if he was going on a suicide mission. Her hand rose to cover her mouth. Sasuke was currently fighting someone and that person seemed very strong. "Team Eight is located east of here and they have encountered someone strong." She looked at her friend to see what his decision was.

_ I guess Orochimaru did manage to escape from whatever traps the Hokage made. Plan A has failed which now leaves me with Plan B. Plan B is to hold him off until someone else more powerful comes and save my ass. All that planning ahead didn't go very well since it wasn't thought out. In the end, I still have to enter this fight. This totally sucks!!! _

"Alright. Let's move, team."

Sasuke was truly terrified of his situation. The fight had already been one sided ever since it started. He had surrendered his team's scroll to the Grass-Nin but the enemy simply tosses it aside. It was all he could do to save Ino, Sakura, and him. He felt helpless again just like the day Itachi destroyed the Uchiha Clan.

Ino was seriously injured because he was too afraid to react in time. He saw how she came and aided him when he was in trouble and he failed to do anything for her. Sakura was even brave enough to charge at the monster and she too got hurt.

Don't they know it is useless to fight someone like him, Sasuke asked himself. It was then that seeing the girls in such pain that he just couldn't deal it with himself anymore. He launched at the enemy not caring about his fate. The girls had seen him weak and that was something he doesn't want anyone to see again.

"Katon · Housenka no Jutsu!" Sasuke sent multiple fireballs from his mouth. He combined kunais into the flame hoping that the enemy would get killed by the weapon if not by the fireballs. Unfortunately, his planned and effort failed.

Sasuke made several genjutsu to fool the enemy but most of them only managed to slow the man down. The genjutsu he learned were all from Kurenai sensei whom was an expert in that field. The last illusion he used was creating a field of clones to confuse the enemy. From behind the illusion clones, he shot out shurikens from random places to make the enemy think the clones were real and was attacking. Unfortunately, Orochimaru created a burst of wind from his mouth that knocked the real Sasuke down, thus ending the illusion.

Orochimaru was getting impatient. He needed to end the fight quickly because the Anbus were following behind him. Otherwise, he would love to stick around and further test his future body's abilities. A smile finally began to form on his face. It was amusing that the Uchiha boy kept fighting as though he had a chance of winning. The Snake Sennin performed a set of hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground. From beneath the ground, a gigantic snake appeared.

"Sharingan!"

"So you do have the Sharingan," said Orochimaru.

Sasuke nearly emptied his pockets and his pouch of every weapon he had. The second top rank rookie finally stopped after concluding how useless it was to continue attacking the snake with the same fashion. The snake's scales were very though and the weapons he carried as not efficient even to make a scratch. In the short time while he was throwing his weapons, Sasuke tried to formulate a strategy. Taijutsu seemed out of the question because it was useless against a giant snake. His only answer left was ninjutsu since genjutsu was also useless.

Ino and Sakura were staring at their male teammate. In the beginning of the fight, they saw another side of Sasuke that shouldn't have existed. Sasuke was frozen in fear and actually surrendered their scroll which he was supposed to protect. The fear was too great in him that he failed to respond to the enemy's attacks. But now, it seems like he was back to his normal self and fighting courageously as ever before.

The Uchiha Clan specializes in using fire element attacks. Thus it would be a fire element jutsu that will help him out of this nightmare. One of the problems he now faced is choosing whom to attack first. His mind couldn't make up whether he should slay the snake first then attack the master or do it vice versa. Sasuke jumped from tree to tree to avoid being eaten and being flattened by the snake. His Sharingan helped immensely in analyzing the snake's movement. He could predict when the snake is going to strike which allows him to get away from the attacks safely.

Sasuke's body was already bruised and battered which makes moving hard. "Katon · Ryuuka no Jutsu!" He made a flame blast from his mouth and targeted both the snake and its master. He was trying to take two of them out at the same time if he was lucky. The snake however went through his flame unscratched and slammed into him.

"You are foolish Sasuke-kun if you think something like that can defeat us," said Orochimaru. All of a sudden, the snake he summoned shook its head violently which would have knocked a regular ninja off. It seems the Fire Element · Dragon Fire Skill did cause some damaged after all.

Orochimaru got off from his snake and attacked Sasuke with a right cross to the face and a front kick to the jaw. The combination knocked Sasuke off the tree but the boy somehow managed to latch onto the bottom tree branch and landed safely on the ground.

Using whatever strength he had left, Sasuke continue to jump from tree to tree, evading the Orochimaru's attacks but he had now reached his limit.

Orochimaru's neck and arms stretched out to inhuman lengths. Everything about that technique was like a characteristic of a snake. It is a fitting jutsu for a snake master. He had already calculated where Sasuke was going to jump and land, so he caught the boy easily and delivered a devastating blow.

The wind got knocked out of Sasuke and momentarily disrupted the boy's control of his body. Sasuke's Sharingan spun for its last time as his iris returned to its normal state. The kick to his jaw earlier also increased his immobilizing state and soon the boy lost conscious.

Ino and Sakura was too hurt to move at the moment and could only watch Sasuke being manhandled by the Grass-Nin.

"You are too weak, Sasuke-kun. Luckily it seems like you do have room to grow." He let go of Sasuke and watched the boy fall. He still wanted to install more fear in Sasuke to forever remember his weak state.

_ Sasuke, soon you will be begging for my guidance. You will become stronger and when the time comes I will take over your body. _

Author's Notes:

Thank you for your reviews!

Once again, I want to thank Masiyuu for proofreading this chapter.

Say, remember the jutsu Naruto developed in this fanfiction to fight against doujutsu? I think it was in chapter 6 that I mention this. Well, maybe someone can help me name this jutsu. I was thinking of calling it Anti-Doujutsu no Jutsu. Do you think its kinda lame? Anyways, if you have something better, hope you'll share it. Thanks.

Did anyone read last week's Naruto manga? It was tight! But it looks Naruto is still conscious of what he's doing so his anger or Kyuubi is not controlling him. Wonder if Sasuke will go to Level 2 against Naruto.

Off Topic Discussion: I was looking through some anime sites (because I was bored) and I came across some anime quotes. Some of these quotes are hilarious. Probably my favorite quote that I found was from Goku in the original Dragonball series.

Goku: "Why do women have butts on their chests?"

I crack up every time I read this. If you got favorite anime or manga quotes, share them if you like.


	11. The Chuunin Exam: I am Naruto!

Better Equipped

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

Italics: Thoughts

Chapter 11 - The Chuunin Exam: I am Naruto!

Team Seven had finally entered the danger zone. Naruto made everyone stop a quarter mile away from the battle site. He didn't want Orochimaru to detect his teammates and use them as hostages. They saw that Sasuke wasn't fairing out well against the enemies and would be drained of chakra soon.

_So, that is Orochimaru. I can't believe I am going through this. Even the hairs on my body are telling me that this guy is dangerous, and should be avoided. I've gone this far now, so I can't back away. In all the paths that were given to me, I have chosen this one. This is where I end up with all the decisions I have made. I cannot run away._

Naruto looked at his teammates once again as if it was going to be the last time he would see their face. "Remember to follow the plan to the end." With that said, he continued forward.

Naruto got closer to the battlefield and saw Orochimaru toss Sasuke off a tree. Channeling chakra into his right hand where his sweat glands were, he created webbing and shot them underneath where Sasuke was falling. In seconds, a good size spider web was formed and caught Sasuke. He shot a web line with the index finger on his left hand and swung in on Orochimaru. "Spider Swing!"

A pair of feet smashed onto Orochimaru's face. The Snake Sennin fell from the branch but quickly caught himself on a lower branch. He then faced the one who dared to hit him.

Sakura and Ino were very surprised to see the number one rookie of their class show up. In a few seconds, Naruto was able to save Sasuke from falling and hit the Grass-Nin successfully. Naruto is so cool, they thought.

"You dare hit me behind my back, you little snot!"

"Hey, I'm a ninja. Hitting people behind the back is part of the job description." Without waiting for a response, Naruto quickly threw a kunai attached with an explosive tag, directed above Orochimaru.

"You should really read a book that I'm thinking of writing. It's called Ninjas for Dummies."

"Who's a dummy? Your attack missed by a long shot."

"Chapter sixteen, explosive tags!" Naruto quickly shot out webbing and glued Orochimaru to the ground. The Snake Sennin was immobilized and was unable to avoid the explosion.

The smoked cleared a bit and a shattered log was visible where Orochimaru was standing.

_Shit! He used Kawarimi no Jutsu! _

The giant snake Orochimaru summoned earlier attacked Naruto out of nowhere. The blond Genin leaped away in a split second but was attacked by Orochimaru from above, who delivered an axe kick above Naruto's head as he was coming down.

Smoke puffed at the bottom of Orochimaru's leg as a log appeared. He pulled the same trick as me, he told himself.

_I might need to take out the snake first. _

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

A single clone was created by the jutsu. The real Naruto pointed at his clone.

"I'll take the snake while you'll take on Orochimaru. Hold him off as long as you can."

_Okay, the snake is very big. What can I do to stop it? _

Naruto then noticed something on the ground. A scroll. It was the Heaven Scroll which is one of the set of scrolls required to pass this part of the exam. It gave him an idea. He sent a web line to it and quickly yanked it towards him with a strong pull. If he remembered correctly, those who open the scroll without its counterpart and not in the tower will be knocked out by the Chuunnin that is summoned by unsealing it. Naruto knew the danger he was in and would appreciate any help he could get. He began breaking the seal on Team Seven's Heaven Scroll and immediately toss the scroll open onto the ground a few feet away from him.

_Please let it be someone worthwhile. Don't let it be Iruka since he won't be much help. Hopefully Jiraiya, Tsunade, or Hokage-sama will make an appearance._

To his dismay, the Chuunin that was summoned was Mizuki, the sensei at the ninja academy that was supposed to try and steal his father's forbidden scroll.

_This… is so not good! _

Upon being summoned, Mizuki knew something was wrong. He surveyed the area quickly to take in any information he could. A few Genins who recently graduated from the academy were present and a giant snake was coming his way.

Before Naruto could warn Mizuki, the would-be traitor was already snake food. The snake wrapped its tongue around the Chuunin and yanked him inside the mouth. On the way it, his leg was cut by the snake's fang, which was oozing with venom.

_That was totally unexpected. Who would have known that he would die from this little episode? I'm shocked that he was the one chosen to appear and guide Team Eight._

Naruto continued to avoid being eaten by the snake by launching himself from tree to tree. He landed on another branch and stood still this time. As the snake opened its mouth at the young ninja, Naruto preformed a set of hand seals. "Katon · Ryuuka no Jutsu!" He aimed the powerful flame blast right into the snake's open mouth where it's not protected with scales.

The girls noticed that Naruto preformed the same ninjutsu Sasuke did awhile back. Only this jutsu seemed to be more powerful. They assumed that Naruto used more chakra than Sasuke had.

The snake was hurt bad. It thrashed around madly before it died.

_D'oh! Now it's definitely too late to save Mizuki. Even if he was somehow alive, now he's just BBQ._

Orochimaru was furious that one of his snakes died. But he could always summoned more if needed. With a swipe, he finished off the shadow clone.

_That young Genin was able to use Kage Bushin no Jutsu. He is a very interesting young man. His taijutsu is good from how his clone fought. Let's see what the real thing can do._

The Snake Sennin opened his mouth and used his hand to push something up from his stomach. A snake began to appear from his mouth. It opened its mouth to reveal a sword handle. Orochimaru took the handle in his hand and pulled out a sword.

"Kusanagi no Tsurugi?" Naruto didn't like where the fight was going. Orochimaru brought out the legendary sword which meant he was going to get serious. "Not good!"

Orochimaru came at him fast and waving his sword. He was amused that the young ninja was able to dodge his sword arts and even managed to counter attack.

Naruto waited for the moment. He looked for an opening, in which his opponent left his chest unguarded to deliver a special attack. He only needs a second for the opening to appear. His patience paid off. He counter attacked again.

"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" He sent about fifty rapid punches to Orochimaru's abdomen and sent a front snap kick and connected to the jaw. _I need to something to go against his sword_, he thought.

He made some hand seals and then slammed his palm down. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu· Enkouou · Enma!"

Enma was the last thing that Orochimaru thought would be here. He was the special summon that Sarutobi sensei acquired. He's related to Sarutobi somehow, he thought.

"Orochimaru?" the old Monkey King asked surprisingly. "Sarutobi should have finished you off a long time ago."

_I used up quite a bit of chakra summoning Enma._

"Enma, please help me out here. I need you to transform into Kongou Nyoi."

Before Enma had the chance to, Orochimaru swiftly ran at Naruto and succeeded to deliver some wounds. He continued to do so but the boy dodged again and kicked the sword in to the left. He cursed himself as Enma completed his transformation and was now in the boy's hands.

Each of the combatants showed great skills in using their weapons. Naruto seemed to have an advantage in long range battles since Kongou Nyoi was able to change lengths. The blond Genin made rapid strikes at the older ninja with one of the end of Kongou Nyoi.

Orochimaru blocked the strikes with his sword but found that he couldn't keep up with the younger brat. He jumped away from the battle to gain more distance. The staff extended once again, neutralizing the breathing room he just gained. He jumped on top of a branch and stabbed his sword in the trunk to free his hands to perform ninjutsu.

Naruto watched mini fireballs shot out from his enemy's mouth. He quickly spins his staff around which deflected the incoming projectile. "Whirlwind Cane!"

The Snake Sennin grabbed his sword again and jumped towards Naruto. This time, he also extended his neck to abnormal lengths to create a double attack. Naruto saw both attacks coming but knew he couldn't stop both attacks at the same time. The young Genin of the Leaf transferred his chakra towards his legs to make a powerful leap. Unfortunately, Orochimaru anticipated the jump since he greater experience in battles.

Orochimaru's long neck wraps around the blond ninja to secure the enemy from getting away. Then he used the Kusanagi no Tsurugi to knock away the Kongou Nyoi from Naruto's hands. Naruto quickly performed a Rasengan with his left hand and placed it on the Snake Sennin's neck that was wrapped around him while being careful not to hit himself. Orochimaru quickly unwrapped himself due to the sudden pain.

_Damn, he could have bitten me if I didn't act fast. _

Naruto's eyes widened as he watched Orochimaru slowly turn into mud.

_It was a mud clone! _

Naruto twisted around to scan for the Snake Sennin as he was descending from his earlier leap. As soon as he caught sight of the enemy, both of his index fingers from both hands shot out a web line at Orochimaru. Naruto then pulled the web lines towards him with all available strength so that Orochimaru would meet him in midair while he was traveling downward at a faster rate.

Blue chakra could be seen forming around Naruto's right fist. "Power Dunk!" Naruto traveled down faster with the burst of speed given from his attack. His blazing fist sailed right into Orochimaru who once again turned into mud. The blond ninja's eye widens a second time as he saw his mistake. There was a loud explosion after his fist connected to a tree. A huge chunk of the tree was obliterated from the impact.

_Shit, that was another mud clone. My attack was futile and I think I fractured my right arm again. I'm starting to feel the pain even though I'm pumped with adrenalin. _

While Naruto grasped his arm in pain, Orochimaru appeared behind him holding the Kusanagi no Tsurugi.

"You are right that attacking behind people's back is in our job description," said Orochimaru. An onslaught of sword swipes was released on the boy who dared to interfere in his plans.

Blood was dripping down Naruto like a river. Finally, the boy couldn't take it anymore and collapsed.

The rest of Team Seven were in debate on whether they should help Naruto. The fight between the two was extraordinary. It increased to a level where they could only hope to achieve. They knew it would be suicidal if they interfered. Seeing their teammate getting beat so bad was unbearable.

_Please be okay Naruto-kun. _

Hinata remembered back how shy she was when she first attended the academy. Naruto was the exact opposite of her. He was talkative, brave, and smart. One of the things she admires most about him is that he works hard. Even when he couldn't perform a jutsu, she remembered him practicing until he got it right.

_Damn you Naruto! Why do you have to be a hero and put yourself through this? Hinata and I are really worried. If I was only stronger, we might not be in this mess._

Ino was in tears when she saw how much blood Naruto was losing. His face had gone pale. He risked his life saving them from a monster when he didn't need to. She couldn't thank him enough for it but she wish he would just give up. If he continued any longer, he would die. Ino tried her best to get back on her feet. She wasn't going to lose anyone close to her.

Sakura couldn't believe what was happening. Even their number one rookie couldn't stand up against that man. Naruto was sacrificing himself to save them. She wasn't that close to him since she was busy chasing Sasuke. She couldn't believe that he would go through so much for them. If only she was stronger, she could have helped Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto kept on fighting even when he got knocked down. She had to use him as an example of how a ninja should be. As she looked for her friend and rival, Sakura saw that Ino was also trying to get back up. They had the exact same idea. They can't let Naruto down.

_I can't die like this. Naruto isn't supposed to die like this. There are a lot of things that I need to do. If I was only a bit taller and had longer arms and legs, things may be different. I don't want to die. Sasuke is out cold, while Ino and Sakura are injured. I don't have anyone to help me._

Naruto then heard some battle cries. It sounded like the girls. Their voice soon died off.

They were trying to save me, he told himself. His mind started to wander off. Bits of memories about his past flashed before his eyes. He remembered how he talked the Third in taking him in and trains him. Jiraiya and Tsunade who were like his parents also taught him. There were also the Jounins who took him under their wing. So many hopes had been put onto his shoulders. Flashback of his friends made him crack a smile on his face.

He heard Orochimaru laughed at Sakura and Ino's futile attempt to fight back.

_All those heroes and superheroes had face this situation countless times and they never gave up. Naruto never gave up and now I am Naruto. That's right; it's not a game anymore because it's the real thing. I am Naruto and this is my world, my home. I've been given a gift and powers for a reason. With great powers comes great responsibilities right? I haven't even begun to use my jutsus yet. I still have a secret weapon. I won't give up because I can't. I can't give up because I am Uzumaki Naruto! Sakura, Ino, and even Sasuke need me to save them and I'm not going to let them die._

A loud growl could be heard deep within the chambers. A demonic creature was trapped within a sealed gate that could never be opened by normal means. It wanted to kill and destroy everything in its path. "Kid, where have you been hiding all these time?" Kyuubi asked.

Orochimaru continued laughing at the helpless Genins. He didn't expect the blond ninja to go above his expectations. The blond was actually more amusing than Sasuke. He even thought of raising the brat himself, and taking his body later, but the Sharingan was what he truly wanted.

Naruto got up from where he lay. Blood was still pouring out of him but not as much as before. Kyuubi's power had already started to heal his body.

The girls were glad that Naruto was alive.

"Sakura…Ino…are you both okay?" Seeing that they nodded their heads, Naruto slowly walked towards Orochimaru.

"I guess it's time to take this battle up another notch." His gaze returned to the girls. "If we all survive this, you girls should go out on a date with me."

Naruto got into a stance and began to concentrate on collecting his charka. A blue aura quickly engulfs Naruto making him look invincible.

"He's radiating so much chakra that it's visible," said Sakura.

The blue chakra quickly vanishes from sight as it is covered by red chakra that poured out from Naruto. The power of the red chakra healed all his wounds that he received during the first half of the battle.

"Such power!" Orochimaru said after being amazed.

_This is no normal boy. I can feel the malice coming off from the red chakra. Chakra isn't supposed to be red. He must be the boy who contains Kyuubi._

"Let's see what you have FOX!"

"Don't mind if I do. Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto created four clones of himself.

"Do you think four is enough?"

Naruto smiled evilly. "Kongou Nyoi!" The power staff that Enma turned into returned to the real Naruto's hands. "Guys, let's show him that we're not that easy to take down."

Four Naruto clones circled Orochimaru. Each of them began attacking and got in some successful hits. Two of the clones synchronized their movements. The other two clones opposite each other fought him directly while the other two used hit and run tactics. Each of them moved beautifully, especially the two that distracted Orochimaru by moving in and out. They displayed extreme speed, flexibility and agility that looked almost impossible to accomplish. Once one half of the clones distracted Orochimaru enough, and left hits slightly aggravating, it was the other two who were suppose to deliver the devastating blows. His front and back were exposed for a second, and Narutos used that moment to thank him from the earlier punishment.

"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" said the clone in front of Orochimaru. "Hyakuretsukyaku!" said the clone in the back of Snake Sennin. Rapid punches and kicks were delivered on both sides.

Orochimaru couldn't believe the predicament he was in. He had underestimated the boy's taijutsu abilities. He was taking in damage. Sending chakra into his legs, he jumped up and stuck his feet on the branch above them. He was standing upside down from the branch. His little moment of rest was very brief, because the real Naruto extended his staff and managed to knock the Kusanagi no Tsurugi from his hand.

The real Naruto leaped at the criminal with his staff.

Damn you little brat, he cursed the boy. "Fuuton · Daitoppa!" The powerful wind once again rushed out his mouth.

Three of the Naruto clones went and carried Team Eight out from the path of the wind. The real Naruto, who was still in mid air, pointed one of the end of his staff down towards the ground and extended it, so that he vaulted himself over the wind blast and continue his attack on Orochimaru. The Naruto clone that stayed behind grabbed the staff from the bottom and prepared to use it when his real counterpart let go.

Naruto formed two Rasengan in each hand and prepared to drive them into the enemy.

Seeing the attack coming, Orochimaru aimed his left arm at the kid and quickly extended it. His fist rocketed out and hit directly at the brat's face. The blond ninja didn't expect that attack to come. He was knocked off course and collided into the branch the below him.

That boy must also be connected to Jiraiya if he knows Rasengan, Orochimaru thought. The Toad Sennin was the only person who knows that jutsu after the Fourth died.

_Shit! I forgot he had that kind of attack. He's like Mr. Fantastic, Plastic Man, Dhalism or even Stretch Dude when Bart Simpson got his powers in that Halloween special. Wonder if that jutsu can make any part of the body stretch. It could really be useful in bed. Damn, now is not the time to think about your book Naruto!_

Naruto gathered chakra to his feet and began to run up the tree.

_That brat's power and speed increased greatly. It is like he has a curse seal on him. He will be extremely dangerous in the near future if I let him live. He's climbing his up quickly._

"Burn Knuckle!" The attack helped increased Naruto's speed to reach the criminal.

The energy that surrounded Naruto's fist connected to the Snake Sennin's face. Orochimaru's teeth located on the back on his left jaw was shattered due to the strong impact and the sheer intensity of the chakra present. The blond ninja's chakra also burnt away part of the mask that conceals Orochimaru's true face. The hit knocked the Orochimaru away at a good distance.

_Did that I him? _

"How dare you!" That punch was hard and it came fast. He never saw a jutsu like that before. Blood was dripping from his mouth and his left eye became burry. He saw that there was no time to rest now because the brat's clones had regrouped. "I'll teach you what it means to be a Legendary Sennin." His eyes grew even scarier. He put his hands together to perform seals. He was running out of time and didn't want to play with the kid any longer. The air began to have strange currents running around which erupted immediately. The air became blades of wind and began slashing uncontrollably.

All the four clones were destroyed in an instant. Naruto wasn't lucky either as the wind blades reopens wounds on his body and cut his throat. He was desperately seeking for air and hope Kyuubi would heal him soon. The pain was really taking a toll and took away his control of Kyuubi's chakra. The demonic chakra faded to where it came from.

"Do you actually think you can win against me brat?! Well, I was only fooling around and you just happened to step over the line." He sent chakra to his fingers and ordered his sword to return. He then plunged his sword into Naruto's right leg. He loved every second of it. Seeing how the cut on his throat was already beginning to heal, he made another swipe at it.

Naruto would scream if he could but sound wouldn't come out his mouth. Blood was already filling it up, making it even harder to breath.

All of a sudden Orochimaru found himself being hit from the back. As he turned his head around, he saw Naruto standing there. "What is this? Aren't you supposed to be down?"

This was actually a secret shadow clone that Naruto made which hid himself during the fight. If the real Naruto ever got in a jam, the clone would come out and save him. Unfortunately, he was a bit late. Naruto sent another straight punch with his right arm which knocked the Snake Sennin off balance. He then shot a web line with his left hand and reeled the opponent to him. As soon as Orochimaru was traveling towards him, Naruto started one of his destructive techniques. "Kinjutsu – Shinku Hadoken!" Naruto pulled all energy from his body and the energy from the area into his hands. However, the clone dispersed from doing the technique. Its chakra level was already too weak in the beginning so Naruto's clone couldn't hold on any longer after it poured the remaining energy into the attack.

Orochimaru was in shock when the kid called out a kinjutsu attack, but he didn't have a chance to see what the jutsu does as the clone disappeared. "So that was a clone. This means the real you is right here. I'll commend you that it was a good idea to leave a clone behind in this situation. But unfortunately, your opponent is me." He then proceeds to plunge the sword at the boy's heart but something stopped him. He used the tip of his sword to see what stopped his blade and saw a weighted vest. "Wearing a weighted vest are we? You would have a better chance without it I suppose, but the outcome would be the same. So it saved you in the end by leaving it on." With a half circle swipe, he slit both of Naruto's wrists. He was about to have more fun when he heard the Anbus coming. "Time is up brat. I have to leave now. Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Two giant snakes appear from the ground.

"Eat him while I'll deal with the Uchiha." Orochimaru walked to the where Sasuke was lying. "Sadly, you did not meet my expectations but I'll still give you a reward for keeping me entertained." Orochimaru brought Sasuke's neck in front of his mouth and bit him. He then watched a seal formed around the area where he bit the Uchiha prodigy. The seal formed Orochimaru's family symbol.

Sasuke couldn't take the unbearable pain and cried in agony.

"What did you do to Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"We gave you our scroll already, so why don't you leave us alone?" Tears were running down Ino's eyes as like Sakura.

The Snake Sennin smiled cruelly at the girls. He jumped on one of the snakes and rode it off sight. The remaining snake wrapped its tongue around Naruto and brought him in its mouth.

"NARUTO!" everyone screamed.

Author's note:

Thanks for your reviews!

Once again, I want to thank Masiyuu for finding the time to proofread this chapter.

I was wondering if any of the readers knew I used the quote from The Incredible Hulk. Thanks Lost Dreams for catching that because I almost forgot I added that piece into the story. I also added a one word quote from a famous cartoon character in this chapter. Can anyone catch it? Small hint, you can watch this show on FOX and UPN.

Naruto wasn't possessed by Kyuubi or anger in this chapter. He maintained Kyuubi's chakra from concentration. Don't worry; I'll make him fox out later in another chapter. Got to save the good stuff for later right? Team Ten will make an appearance next chapter as well as Gai's team.

Yeah, that's the end for Mizuki.

Techniques:

Spider Swing: Spiderman from Marvel Superheroes Game

Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken: Ranma (Ranma ½) Rapid Punch. Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire

Hyakuretsukyaku: Chun Li's (Street Fighter 2) Lightning kicks

Whirlwind Cane: Billy Kane (KOF) Spins his cane in front of him to stop fireballs.

Shinku Hadoken: Ryu (Street Fighter 2) Energy Beam version from Marvel vs. Street Fighter or X-men vs. Street Fighter.

Burn Knuckle: Terry Bogard (KOF)

Power Dunk: Terry Bogard (KOF)

SUPER BONUS MATERIAL FROM FUTURE CHAPTER!!!!

Here is a sneak peek of a chapter that I may write as one of the chapters of Better Equipped. I was thinking that the characters will need to interact more to build a bond between them. So I came up with this idea. Our favorite Genins gather to a remote spot. Sasuke challenges Naruto to a fight to test his strength. Naruto declines but Sasuke is really pushing it. Seeing that things may get ugly, Naruto makes all the girls leave the area. The blond ninja used his quick thinking and came up with a plan to stop this fight from happening.

Naruto challenges Sasuke instead to a contest that tests all of their ninja abilities. This contest will test their skills in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. Whoever wins this competition will be declared to as the Man Among Men. Rock Lee gets excited about this competition and wants to enter. No matter what Naruto says, Lee still wants to participate. Sasuke doesn't mind that Lee enters since he has supreme confidence that he will not lose.

So Naruto stated the terms and rules of the competition. Both Lee and Sasuke want out but Naruto calls them a chicken. After further dialogue, both of the Genin agrees to Naruto's condition. The competition is going to be an all out panty raid. Whoever steals the most panties from sunset to sunrise will be the winner and be known as the Man Among Men. The other male Genins think the idea is stupid but agrees to be the judges.

Who will be the Man Among Men?


	12. The Chuunin Exam: Over?

Better Equipped

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

Italics: Thoughts

Chapter 12 - The Chuunin Exam: Over?

Naruto woke with a big headache. His eyes were blurry for a minute and then it began to clear. Naruto jumped up on his bed as he discovered he was in a hospital.

_What am I doing here? What the hell happened while I was out? Is the Chuunin Examinations over? What happened to Sasuke and Orochimaru?_

"You're finally up."

Naruto turns to the door where the voice was coming from. It was his teammate Inuzuka Kiba. "Why am I in a hospital? What happened while I was out?"

Kiba walked in and sat on the chair beside the hospital bed. "Crazy things had happened man. You got your ass handed to you like you predicted. Then you got eaten by the big snake. The anbus arrived with that examiner but they chased after Orochimaru when we told them which direction he went. They said they couldn't help you since we were still in the middle of the exam. We thought you were going to die until that monkey sliced the snake in half while still in his transformed state. We got you out but you were unconscious due to the snake's venom being in your blood stream due to the cuts on your body. We stayed hidden for awhile with Team Seven, trying to save both you and Sasuke. Of course with our luck, our position was found out by the Sound-nins."

Naruto nodded his head. "Go on, what happens next?"

"I got knocked unbalanced from a sound attack and so did Lee, the guy with the thick eyebrows. He showed up to save you and Sakura. Hinata was the only one holding her ground while Ino and Sakura tried their best. Things got better when Team Ten appeared. Shikamaru formed a plan and we started to gain leverage. It was then that Sasuke woke up with these black markings on his body. Akamaru was scared of him because he was giving off this evil aura. Afterwards, I carried you to the exam tower and took the next exam with Hinata while you were sent here."

"I see, so I'm not part of the Chuunin Exam anymore."

"Don't worry; you'll get a second chance in half a year. At least that is what I was told. Want to hear the results?" After he sees his friend nodded, he continued. "Sasuke, Shino, Shikamaru, Neji, the three Sand-nins, the Sound-nin with that sound vibration tool on his arm, and I passed. I ended up passing automatically at the end because there was no one left to fight me. Talk about luck huh." Then his expression became serious. "Hinata did well in the fight but now she's in the other room next to you. She's hurt bad man. Hinata lost to her cousin Neji."

Naruto jumped up and flipped towards the door. Then he noticed his mask was gone. "Hey, where are my clothes?"

"Some of the things we had to leave behind in that Forest. I couldn't lift you so that monkey you summoned took those weights off before he disappeared. While you were unconscious, we took off your mask so that we could give you medicine. Ino kept on wondering why you wear suck a thing so she kept it.

_So that means everyone saw my face and knows what I look like. I can't help it now. _

"Lee was also seriously injured in his fight," said Kiba "As well as that female teammate of his".

Two days later, Naruto was already up and about. Sandaime had been pestering him about the situation in the Forest of Death and he replied as best as he could. The blond Genin wished he could have stayed conscious and attended the next trial. He could have avoided many problems like Hinata and Lee from getting seriously hurt. Seems like the situation got worse again when he wanted to help. He remembers back at what happened to the Uchiha Clan when he tried to help. The past made him shiver.

"Where are you going to now?" asked Sandaime. "Are you sure you are able to move around? You just got out of the hospital and were in pretty bad shape."

"Don't worry about it. Kyuubi's power healed me. It would have been a whole lot faster if there wasn't venom in my veins and if my body hadn't suffered strains from the overdose of chakra." Naruto turns to his sensei. "Was Orochimaru ever caught?"

"Anko caught up to him but he still escaped. How did you know it was him in the first place? You seem to know much of everything. Is there something that you like to tell me? You've been a very strange boy and I have looked the over way many times because you are a nice child but if you know something or have information that pertains to the safety of this village, I urge you to tell me."

_Like I really want to tell you that your world was simply a manga back in my past life._

Naruto looked at his sensei and saw concerns in his eyes. He felt guilty of holding something important from the old man but something like that he thought ought to be kept secret. People might think he belongs in a loony bin if he spreads word that he was in his past life, a Naruto fan. However, the old man had taken cared of him ever since little and taught him jutsus without much question. He owes a lot to the man and he wanted to keep Konoha safe, the home his sensei loves and cares deeply.

"Please keep an open mind when I tell you this. You see…."

An hour has passed after Naruto had finished explaining. As he thought, Sandaime had a hard time excepting his story but at least he kept an open mind. "I know it's hard to believe but that is the truth. It's up to you to believe me or not."

"How come you waited till now to tell me?"

"It's not very easy to say these things you know. Plus, I never thought it was extremely important for me to say anything. I thought if I acted alone, I could have change things for the better, but it looks like I always get the opposite effect of what I wanted. I hope by telling you now, things would finally change for the good. You're like a father to me so I don't want you to die. I don't want Konohamaru to lose his grandfather or the Hidden Leaf to lose a great leader in that way. The final portion of the Chuunin Exam begins in a month and at that same time the Sound and the Sand led by Orochimaru will attack. From what I remembered, you were killed after sealing that snake's hands into you with the same kinjutsu my dad performed on Kyuubi."

Sandaime got up and look outside the window and gaze over his village. "I don't know whether to believe you or not but I can't afford to make a mistake. It won't hurt trying to sort this mess. Tomorrow, I will contact the Kazekage of the Sand about this. Let's hope he hasn't been killed by my pupil yet."

Being able to move around again, Naruto didn't want to waste time and started to head towards the hot springs district in Konoha. While he was checking on Hinata, Lee, and Tenten's condition, he met up with Kakashi who was guarding Sasuke's room. The two talked for a bit and it was decided that Kurenai will continue his training while the Copy Cat Ninja trains Sasuke for the upcoming event. He wasn't opposed to the idea. The Leaf needed strong ninjas for the upcoming war even if it meant Sasuke using that technique against him in the future.

The hot springs district was truly a great place to relax and have fun. Everyone around the area seemed to be enjoying themselves. If the timeline hasn't changed, Jiraiya would be making an appearance soon. He hasn't seen the old man for a long time. It would be great to catch up with him again and together find Tsunade before the month was over. With both their help, the numbers of Leaf-nin casualties would be low. Naruto waited by the hot springs for hours on and but hasn't even seen a shadow of the old pervert. Three days went by with the same outcome. Naruto was left stunned and confused about the situation. Things were not going as he planned again which is likely to be trouble. Unfortunately, he doesn't know how right he was on that.

It was about ten in the morning when Naruto woke up. Loud noises from the outside woke him up. Last night, he set his alarm clock to run at noon since he stayed up all night training. He had to work off some steam after becoming frustrated about Jiraiya's unknown whereabouts. Naruto got off his bed and head towards window to see what the commotion was about. It was then that the window exploded inward.

Naruto was shocked to see a Sound shinobi crashed into his room. He immediately went on high alert as the stranger got close baring a kunai. "Flash Kick!" Naruto jumped up and did a backward somersault and hit the enemy shinobi in the chin with his right foot blazing with chakra. The move instantly killed the man as Naruto forgot that his weights are off which meant his strength and speed is now more than doubled.

The blond ninja went over to the human size hole in the wall and saw chaos. Sounds of fighting could be heard in the entire area along with people screaming. "What the hell is going on?"

Then he saw a Leaf citizen running away from the area with his family in tow. "Konoha is under attack! Hide!"

Naruto was stunned speechless.

_Weren't they supposed to attack in a month during the exam? What is causing this to happen? Damn, stupid things always happen to me. _

As quickly as possible, Naruto got dressed and dashed out into the scene. Konoha was at war and it needs his help.

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Author's Notes:

It's been awhile but the story is back now.


End file.
